Love & Monsters: The Wolf Within
by TheGirlWhoReadFiction
Summary: Jacob comes home the day before Bella and Edward's wedding but decides he can't stand the idea of his best friend marrying someone else. Jake's love for Bella grows as he struggles to keep her out of harms way. When the Volturi become set on turning Bella into a vampire no matter what, Jake tries to protect her from becoming one of the undead, all the while trying to win her heart.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello readers! It's good to be writing again. I was gone for a while and now I'm back with a new penname and a new writing style. I decided to write my story about Jacob and Bella because I think they are a much healthier couple. Also, there are not a lot of new Bella and Jacob stories out there, so I'm going to take the challenge. I can't promise that everything I write will be completely original, but I can promise that this is how I would have liked the story to end. To tell you the truth, my _Twilight_ obsession has long passed, but I still enjoy the occasional fan fiction and I definitely missed writing. This story is going to pick up a day before Bella and Edward's wedding. I'm writing this in third person because I think it's more challenging and I want practice. But I'm also writing in third person so I can show different perspectives without having to completely change the POV all the time. Feel free to comment on anything, and I would love some constructive criticism. I really want this to be a learning experience. So, without further ado, here is Love and Monsters: The Wolf Within. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1

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The moon was high above the trees as a russet wolf sat atop a cliff, looking out at the ocean. The only sound that could be heard was the waves crashing against the jagged rocks at the bottom. The cold wind blew through the wolf's fur making it dance, but the wolf did not shiver; the wolf did not move. It just stared into the dark ocean that mocked him with each wave.

As he sat, the wolf's inner dialogue got the best of him. _She was going to walk away. She had to walk away. It just wasn't possible for that bloodsucker to make her as happy as he could. The leech had left her out to dry, whereas he had saved her. He had helped her recover. He had brought her back to life. She had to see it. She couldn't be dumb enough to not recognize everything that had happened within the last year._

He let out a long, painful howl that erupted from deep within, and slumped his shoulders in disappointment when he started to hear the others thoughts as they phased. He could see that Sam, wanting to discuss the current situation, gathered all the other wolves in a circle in the forest by La Push. Up until that point, the russet wolf had been very careful with his thoughts, making sure that the others knew he did not want to discuss anything with them. But this was also the first time that they were all trying to talk to him all at once, and it was difficult to ignore.

"Jacob." The leader of the pack spoke calmly, with understanding in his voice. "Everything will work out for the best. Don't worry."

"Don't worry? Don't _worry_? How can I not worry when the love of my life is marrying someone else?" Jacob growled. He was surprised that he answered back, and that it was actually coherent.

"Jacob, just calm down."

"No, Sam. I will not just _calm_ down." Jacob began to pace, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the water below.

"You have been gone for far too long now. I've given you your space, but this needs to stop." Jacob could tell that Sam was starting to use his alpha voice on him.

"I need to think!" Jacob yelled in frustration.

"The wedding is tomorrow, Jacob. Bella is expecting you to be there whether you approve or not. I'm not saying that I want this wedding to happen, because I most definitely do not, but there is really nothing else we can do. She has made her choice. And once she becomes a vampire, the Cullens will have broken the treaty and we will have no choice but to fight.

"I don't want to see her-"

"You will come back right now." It was not a suggestion. It was a command. Jacob could not refuse a command from his alpha.

Jacob felt ashamed and relieved at the same time. Ashamed that Sam had to resort to this command; ashamed that he couldn't be the man Bella wanted. But he was relieved that he would no longer have to be away from his friends and his dad, Billy. He was relieved that he would no longer have to spend another night on the hard ground of the forest and eat wild game for nourishment. He was actually glad he was being forced to go home. But the wedding was the next day, and that was certainly something he did not want to deal with.

"I expect you back tonight." Sam said. And one by one he could hear the other's thoughts disappear as they phased back to human.

The journey back home took Jacob all of two hours. He was fast, and running made him feel content. As he ran, his thoughts wandered to the upcoming wedding. Would he sit in the audience or would he watch from the cover of the forest? And after the ceremony, would he even approach her, or would he just leave? He knew it would be a risk just waltzing into the Cullen's house. There were going to be a lot of vampires there; vampires that didn't know about the werewolves living in Washington. Would he dare expose what he was? He didn't even want to bring forth attention as a human, let alone as a wolf.

Jacob's run was nice; refreshing, even. He slowed down as he approached the La Push boarder. The last two hours of running had been just him and Quil, although Quil hadn't said a word, which Jacob appreciated very much. He would have enjoyed his run much better if he was by himself, but he knew that was impossible. The pack always had to have someone patrolling, especially on the night before the wedding when they knew some of the vampires would be showing up.

After a slow trot to the edge of the forest, Jacob phased. He felt strange in his human skin. He had been a wolf for so long that it was as if he had left his human side behind. But after a few minutes of recovery, Jake quickly sprinted to his house, hoping that because it was late, no one would see him naked along the way.

When he entered his house, he was surprised to see his dad asleep on the couch in front of the TV. _He must have been waiting all night, _Jacob thought as he went to his room to put on some clothes before waking up his dad. He felt bad that he had just gotten up that day and left. He knew the others were helping his dad out, but Jacob knew it was extremely selfish of himself not to consider what leaving would have done to his dad.

As Jacob shook his dad awake, he expected to be scolded. Instead, he was greeted with the biggest smile.

"Son. You're home." Tears began to pool in Billy's eyes as he pulled his son into a tight hug. "I've missed you."

Jacob's guilt grew even more as his father seemed to accept the mistake Jacob had made to leave. "I've missed you too, dad."

"Let me look at you," said Billy, pushing Jacob back but still keeping his hands firmly on Jacob's shoulders as he took in his son's appearance. "You're filthy. Go take a shower." Billy cracked a smile at his joke, and instantly, the awkwardness that Jacob had been feeling a moment before was gone.

"Sure, sure." Jacob smiled crookedly before releasing himself from his father's grip to go to the bathroom.

The next morning, Jacob arose early so he could meet with Sam before he headed over to the wedding. He walked to the beach with a brisk pace, not allowing his thoughts to be on Bella at that moment. He saw Sam standing in the sand and staring at the waves. Jacob walked up next to him but Sam was silent. Jacob didn't dare speak a word, knowing that he was in a lot of trouble as it was.

"I trust that you have your thoughts in order." Sam said, not taking his eyes off of the ocean before him.

The truth was, Jacob was far from having his thoughts in order, but the time away had helped a little. "More so than before."

"Good." Sam finally turned to look at Jacob. His eyes had grown tired and much more mature since the last time he had talked to him. Jacob realized that his absence had put a lot of stress on Sam. Sam already had so much to deal with and then Jacob made it worse by leaving. "Jacob, it's very important for you to understand that when you go to the wedding, you can't let the Cullen's invited vampire friend's know that you're there. They can't find out about the pack."

"I know, Sam. I'll stay out of the way."

"Good. I'm trusting you." Sam turned back towards the ocean, letting Jake know that their conversation was over.

Jacob began to walk away, but as he did, Sam called out one more thing, causing Jacob to pause. "Jake. I really am sorry it turned out this way."

Jacob nodded once and began his walk back to his house to get ready for the wedding.

He put on a white button up shirt and black slacks. Before leaving his room, he looked at himself in the small mirror that was hanging on his wall. His hair was longer, but not something that couldn't go unnoticed for the time being. His eyes looked pained as he willed himself to practice a smile. Lifting his cheeks only brought saddened creases to his eyes, and his smile looked more like a grimace. _This will have to do for now._

He grabbed the keys for his bike and left without a second thought. Speeding down the road towards Forks for his best friend's wedding felt extremely wrong. He couldn't believe that the day had finally arrived, and soon, his best friend would be his biggest enemy. That was the worst part. Bella would be dead. She would kill people and drink their blood. Jacob couldn't even imagine his sweet and uncoordinated Bella ever being capable of something like that, but he knew it would happen. But he didn't want it to happen…Not at all.

There was an hour until the wedding. Jacob knew that Bella was probably still getting ready at the Cullen's house and Charlie was going to meet her there before the ceremony. That gave Jacob an idea. An absolutely crazy idea that would probably get him killed by Sam, but an idea nonetheless. He just couldn't' stand the idea of Bella being a killer vampire. He would never again get to hold her and feel her warmth. And when she was turned, her smell would become revolting to him. Something had to be done. This wedding couldn't go on. And Charlie had a right to know what his daughter was getting herself into.

Instead of taking the road that led to the Cullen's place, Jacob headed in the direction of Charlie's house. Charlie had to know; and Jacob would gladly tell him.

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**Thoughts? Comments? The next chapter is going to get good. I'll post it soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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It was perfect timing that when Jacob pulled up to Charlie's house, Charlie was locking up the front door. Charlie was dressed in suit and tie, with hair perfectly slicked back for the wedding. It was a nice change from his usual chief's uniform or flannel shirt and jeans.

"Charlie!" Jacob yelled, quickly turning off his bike and popping the kickstand out. "I need to talk to you."

Charlie turned around, looking somewhat surprised to see Jacob. "Jake." Charlie said gruffly. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you were back."

"I need to talk to you. It's important." Jake got off of his bike and walked up to Charlie.

"Well can it wait? I'm on my way over to the Cullen's place." Charlie said as he walked over to his cruiser with Jacob following close behind.

"No, it can't. It's about the wedding…it can't happen.," said Jacob.

Charlie turned around to sternly stare Jacob in the eyes. "Look, Jacob, I know that you've got a thing for my daughter, but she's getting married. It's too late. As much as I would like to stop her from getting married so young, I can't. She is old enough to make her own decisions. And besides, Edward is really not a bad guy."

"Yes, you're right. You're absolutely right. She is old enough to make her own decisions. But she's making the wrong decision because Edward actually _is_ a bad guy and her decision is going to kill her."

"What in God's name are you talking about, son?" Charlie was starting to get irritated with Jacob.

"There are things in this world that you don't understand, Charlie." Jacob said as he began to unbutton his shirt. He didn't want to ruin his only nice shirt when he phased. He couldn't believe he was going to do this. He had just promised Sam he would stay out of trouble and twenty minutes later, he was breaking that promise.

"Woah, what are you doing, Jacob? Stop that." Charlie was taken aback by Jacob's bizarre behavior.

"Charlie, listen to me. Bella is in danger. The Cullens are danger. I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you that I was built to protect people from monsters like the Cullens and there is no way I'm letting Bella get hurt."

Charlie quickly shielded his eyes as Jacob began to strip down to his boxers. "Stop this nonsense right now!"

Jacob knew he was risking everything by revealing his secret. He also knew that at any moment, Charlie could pull out a gun he probably had hidden on his person for emergencies, and shoot Jacob. He had to make this quick because a couple members of the pack were out patrolling and they would definitely see what was going on. Jacob took a quick look around to make sure no one else was watching and he called Charlie's name, making Charlie look just in time to see Jacob phase.

Charlie backed up into the cruiser as much as he could, trying to get away from the monstrous reddish brown wolf that had taken Jacob's place in front of him. "This is not possible." He muttered breathily.

Jacob bowed his head to Charlie, reassuring him that everything was okay and that he wouldn't hurt him. He could sense Seth and Paul with him, wondering what the heck he was doing. It wouldn't be long until Sam found out, and then Jacob would be in so much trouble. "_Not now,_" he told them, trying to get the two of them to shut up.

"Jacob?" Charlie said questioningly, taking a slight step forward. Jacob's eyes silently lifted to meet Charlie's and Charlie had to take a deep breath to calm himself. "It's really you?"

Jacob nodded and took a step back, transforming back into a human again. "Don't freak out." Jacob said, keeping his hands out in front of him as a way of telling Charlie to stay where he was. Jacob quickly put his clothes back on and looked back up to meet Charlie's dazed eyes.

"You're a…a werewolf!" Charlie was flustered, looking around nervously as if something he saw around him would be able to explain what had just happened. "Are there more of you?"

"That's not important right now. What _is_ important is that there are creatures, like the Cullens, that are my enemies."

"That's ridiculous. Who in their right mind would ever want to go up against a werewolf?"

"Someone bad." Jacob said vaguely but still letting Charlie know the intensity of this situation.

"Bella!" Charlie said suddenly. "What do the Cullen's want with my baby girl?"

"The Cullens want to take her away. Once she gets married, you'll never see her again. I'm sorry I can't tell you everything, Charlie, but I've already broken so many rules by showing you what I just did. Trust me, Bella needs our help. They're going to make her one of them. They've brainwashed her! She believes that this is really what she wants!"

"There is no way I'm letting them get away with this. Get in the car, Jacob. We're going to stop this." Charlie was using his chief-of-police-voice. Hurriedly, he opened the door to the cruiser and started it, backing out of the driveway before Jacob even had a chance to close his own door.

Jacob could feel a sense of relief wash through him, along with terror and betrayal. _This could all go terribly, terribly wrong. _Jacob knew that even if he and Charlie were able to stop the wedding, Jacob could end up losing his best friend forever.

The time it took to get to the Cullen's house was less than usual with Charlie speeding down the highway in his cop car. As they pulled up to the house, Charlie slammed on the breaks, quickly pulling off his seatbelt and rushing up to the house, leaving Jacob to shut off the engine and grab the keys from the ignition.

Charlie didn't even knock; he just burst through the front door and started looking for Bella. Jacob rushed in quickly after him, trying to get him to calm down. They couldn't let anyone know what they were going to do before they even had a chance to do it. Luckily, it seemed that Edward was outside somewhere, so he couldn't read Charlie's frantic thoughts.

They heard voices from the second floor, so they took the stairs two at a time to the second landing. Alice fluttered out of one off the rooms to see Charlie and Jacob standing together.

"Hello Charlie, Jacob." She said politely, with a concerned look on her face.

Jacob caught the sweet scent that washed over Alice's porcelain vampire skin and turned his nose up in disgust.

"Where's Bella?" Charlie said sternly.

Alice looked at each of them in the eyes briefly before turning to walk back into the room she had just come out of, leaving Charlie and Jacob follow. It wasn't often that Alice was rendered speechless.

Charlie was the first to enter the room, blocking Jacob's view of Bella.

"Dad," Bella said happily, smiling sweetly up at her father. "I was worried you were going to be late. You look really nice. Mom and Phil were just here. They're out in the backyard now."

"Bella we need to talk." Charlie said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked around the room and spotted Rosalie and Alice talking animatedly in the corner. They were so quiet that Jacob could hardly pick up what they were saying, although he had a pretty good guess.

"What is it, Dad?" Bella sounded concerned all of the sudden.

Charlie took a deep breath and sat in the open seat next to his daughter, leaving Jacob completely exposed. Bella looked up at Jacob, surprised. Jacob couldn't believe how beautiful she looked, even more so than usual. Her hair was piled on top of her head in an intricate bun with a few wisps gently curled by her face, and her dress was modest but modern, beautifully accentuating her few curves; the picture of perfection in Jacob's eyes.

"Hey Bells." He said softly.

"Oh my gosh." She stood up and slowly walked to Jacob, shaking her head in disbelief that he was really there. "You're back. You're _here_." She bit her lip out of nervous habit, staring up at him with misty eyes.

"Don't cry Bells, you'll ruin your makeup." He said jokingly. He didn't know why he said that. It's not like she was actually going to be getting married.

Bella laughed and threw her arms around him, squeezing him as tightly as she could. Jacob hugged her back, taking in everything at that moment. The scent of her strawberry shampoo filled his nose and he pulled her closer, never wanting to let go of this perfect, human, Bella. But he knew what he had to do. He had to get her out of there within the next fifteen minutes or she would be walking down the aisle towards Edward, headed straight towards her death. He just wanted to stay in that moment a little bit longer before Bella would inevitably start yelling at him.

Charlie was the one that ended up breaking up Jacob's moment with Bella. "Alice, Rosalie, would you mind leaving the room for a couple of minutes while I talk to my daughter?"

The two vampires in the corner stopped their conversation and looked over at Charlie with pain clearly written on their faces. "I don't know if that's such a good idea," said Rosalie.

"He's not gonna ask again, Blondie," said Jacob.

Bella looked up at Jacob confusedly. "What's going on?"

"It's okay, Bella. We'll be right outside the door if you need us," said Alice.

Bella nodded and looked over to Charlie who was looking at the floor nervously.

"Dad?"

"I'm not going to be walking you down the aisle, Bella," said Charlie sadly. Even though Charlie was disappointed in his daughter leaving, he had also been excited to be the one to walk her down the aisle. Bella was his only daughter and he was happy that she had included him in her life after so many years apart.

"Why not?" Bella walked back over to Charlie and sat in the seat she was moments earlier.

Charlie licked his lips, trying to find the right words to say to his daughter. "I can't let you marry Edward."

"What?" Bella stood up in shock, looking at her father, then at Jacob, and then back to her father. "I have to marry Edward! I _love _him. Today is my wedding day. I can't believe you're doing this to me on my wedding day! Did Jake put you up to this?" She looked at Jake sharply.

Jake 's heart was tearing in two. He knew she would never forgive him. But at least she would be safe.

"Jake has opened my eyes to the dangers this wedding will bring." Charlie stood up and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Bella, I can't let them take you from me. I'm a cop. It's my job to protect people and if I can't protect my own daughter then what am I even good for?"

"How can you even say that to me?" She looked painfully at her father. "Jake you're ruining everything!" She said, turning toward Jacob so fast that he was surprised she didn't give herself whiplash. Bella tried to get past Jacob to get to Alice but Jacob's large stature was blocking the door. "Alice!"

Alice threw open the door and pushed past Jacob with inhuman strength. Rosalie wasn't with her anymore. Jacob knew that was a bad sign. She had probably left to find Edward.

"Alice, stop them!" Bella knew that Alice had heard the whole conversation, so there was no need to fill her in.

"Don't even think about it, Pixie," said Jacob, taking a step forward to try and stop Alice from getting any closer to Bella.

"You can't take her. She belongs with us. She will be one of us. I've seen it!" said Alice.

"Woah, Bella isn't going to be one of you! She's coming back with me!" said Charlie. "Jacob, grab Bella. Let's go." Jacob scooped Bella up into his arms and held her tightly so she couldn't wiggle free.

"ALICE!" Bella screamed from Jacob's arms.

"I'm sorry Bella but Charlie is your father and I'm not going to hurt him," said Alice woefully. "I'll figure something out. Don't worry."

Jacob left the room and carried Bella to the car while Charlie followed close behind.

When they got to the car, Charlie quickly started it and turned around to exit the Cullen's ridiculously long driveway. Jacob had to buckle Bella in the back seat and hold her down to make sure she wouldn't be able to jump out of the car.

"I'm going to kill you, Jacob Black!" Bella screamed in frustration.

"Don't worry honey, you'll thank me for this later," said Jacob. "Charlie, take us to the reservation; the Cullen's can't cross the boarder so she'll be safe there."

Charlie followed Jacob's command and sped off toward La Push. When they were going a safe seventy-five miles an hour, Jacob decided it was okay to let go of Bella. He quickly learned that that was a bad idea. She started punching him, but she tried not to break her land like the last time. They both knew that Jacob couldn't feel anything, but Jacob started to get annoyed with her anyways.

"Cut it out!" yelled Jacob.

Bella sat back in shock. Jacob hardly ever yelled at her and she didn't like it.

Jacob knew the road they were on well. In one more turn they would reach the boarder and they would be free of the Cullens. The wedding should have been starting by that time, so everyone would have known that something was going on.

As they rounded the corner, Jacob could make out a familiar figure standing in the middle of the road right at the boarder. Edward.

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**Thoughts? Comments? Let me know what you think of chapter 2!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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Charlie slammed on the breaks as he tried to avoid hitting Edward with the cruiser, even though Edward wouldn't have been the one to get hurt. But Charlie didn't know that.

The car skidded to a stop, barely avoiding the pale figure that stood in front of them. Luckily, the three in the car weren't injured, though they were a bit rattled.

As soon as the car stopped, Edward ran up to Bella's door and pulled her from the vehicle and into his arms.

"Bella," he said into her neck, "Rosalie said they took you. What's going on?"

Jacob was out of his side of the car in no time, running over to the two that were embracing by Bella's open door.

"Get your hands off of her." Jacob said forcefully.

"Jacob Black." Edward said coolly, releasing Bella and pushing her slightly behind him.

"Bella!" Charlie was now out of his seat and trying to get to Bella but Edward's intimidating stance kept him back a bit. Charlie didn't want to do anything that would cause Edward to turn on his daughter, so he kept calm and started treating it like a hostage situation. Apparently Jacob was wrong about Charlie having a gun with him; not that it would have done any good against a vampire. "Edward, I'm not going to hurt you, just give me my daughter back." Charlie had his hands visible, letting Edward see that he didn't have a weapon.

"I can't do that Chief Swan. Bella is meant to be my wife, and it will happen today."

"Edward, be rational about this. "

"I'm really surprised that you let Jacob influence you so much. " Edward was reading Charlie's mind.

"Stay out of his head!" Jacob yelled.

Edward then turned his attention to Jacob. "That was a dangerous thing revealing what you did to Charlie." Edward's unnatural calm was eerie. It always gave Jacob the shivers whenever he witnessed it.

"He had to know." It was taking everything in Jacob not to phase at that moment. He wanted to fight Edward so badly, but he knew it wasn't the time or place. He also didn't want the rest of the pack to know what was going on at that moment. It would make everything so much worse if a war started up right in the middle of the road. "Just let her go."

"No!" Edward's composed façade was beginning to fail him.

"Bella, come here." Charlie tried beckoning his daughter over to where he was. All Bella did was look over at her father and then look back at the argument happening between her fiancée and best friend.

"You stole my fiancée. You're ruining our wedding. What did you expect to accomplish from all of this, Jacob? She isn't yours. She's mine. She always has been."

"You don't own her like she's one of your prized possessions!" Jacob yelled. That had done it. Edward came at him with undeniable speed, throwing Jacob up against the car and holding him by the neck three feet off the ground.

"You think she would ever pick you, _Jacob Black_?" Edward said Jacob's name as if were something vile.

"Charlie, get Bella to the boarder." Jacob choked, trying to pry Edward's ice-cold hands from his neck.

Charlie ran towards his daughter who seemed to be frozen in fear. He grabbed her hand but she shook him off. "Wait!" She yelled at the scene before her. "Edward, wait!"

Edward turned his head a bit to show he acknowledged Bella's comment, but he didn't put Jacob down. Jacob was going to phase if Edward didn't let go.

Bella slowly walked up to Edward, despite her father's protests behind her, and put a hand on Edward's shoulder. "Let him go." She said softly.

Edward waited another moment before finally releasing Jacob who fell to the ground in a fit of coughing.

Edward spun around quickly, taking Bella's hands in his. "I'm sorry love, but he took you."

"I don't like this side of you, Edward." Bella was calm, choosing her next words very carefully so Edward wouldn't snap again. "My dad and Jacob obviously went through a lot of trouble to get me here.

"Bella what are you saying?" Edward said worriedly.

"I'm not saying the wedding is off." Edward visibly relaxed at that. "Just give me one hour to talk to them and hear what they have to say."

"I don't think that's a good idea-"

"Shh." Bella put her index finger over Edward's lips to quiet him. "One hour. I'll meet you back here."

Edward stared into Bella's eyes for a while trying to understand her request. Eventually he let out a sigh. "One hour. Not a minute more."

"Thank you." Bella smiled at him sweetly.

"You look beautiful by the way." Edward's eyes roamed over his fiancée's white dress and pinned-up hair.

Bella visibly blushed and kissed him on the back of his hand before stepping away and walking toward her father who looked on with fear in his eyes.

"Let's go," said Bella, pulling her father from his worried trance.

Jacob stood up from his spot on the ground and turned to walk back to his side of the car. Before he could get there, Edward grabbed the front of his shirt. "One hour," Edward said. Jacob just nodded once.

_So much for trying to save my only nice shirt. _Jacob thought as he got into the car. He knew he would have to throw it out. The stench of the leech was all over him.

Jacob was happy when the three of them finally crossed the boarder in the cruiser. Bella looked back to see Edward watching them one second, and after blinking, he was gone.

Sam was waiting for the three of them as Charlie parked the cruiser in Billy's driveway. Sam did not look happy. Jacob knew that Seth and Paul must have spoken to him about what had happened at Charlie's house. The three of them exited the vehicle and Sam's hard expression turned to confusion.

"Bella?" He said.

"Hello, Sam." Bella looked completely out of place in her wedding dress.

Sam looked over at Jacob for an explanation but Jacob just shook his head, letting Sam know he didn't want to talk in front of Charlie and Bella.

"Charlie, I'll meet you inside." Jacob said.

"Sure thing." Charlie said, helping Bella up the two steps that led to the front door.

Sam waited until Charlie and Bella were just out of earshot before speaking. "Are you insane? What do you think you're doing, Jacob?"

"I'm thinking that I have a chance to save her, Sam," Jacob said defensively.

"How did you even get her here? And how much did you tell Charlie?"

"He only knows about me. I didn't tell him about the rest of the pack, I swear. I told him the Cullens were my enemies and he agreed that we needed to save Bella. So…we kind of took her."

"You _what_? The Cullens are going to be here any minute to take her back!" Sam was already coming up with plans of how to defeat the vampire family.

"No, they wont, Sam! Edward agreed to one hour. I only have one hour to convince Bella not to marry him, Sam! This is my last chance! If I fail, she's going right back to him!"

Sam put his forefinger and thumb over the bridge of his nose, right between his eyes, trying to force back the massive migraine Jacob's antics was bringing him. "Jacob-"

"Please, Sam." Jacob begged. "Please…"

Sam sighed in resignation. "Fine. But this isn't over."

Jacob quickly pivoted and ran up to his house.

Inside, Charlie and Bella were sitting on opposite ends of the kitchen table, speaking in hushed but angry tones.

"Charlie, can I speak to Bella alone please?" Jacob said.

Bella looked up from her intense glaring at her father to meet Jacob's soft brown eyes.

Charlie was a bit taken aback but he still agreed to Jacob's request. "Sure thing, kid." He said, walking outside to give Bella and Jacob some space.

"Bella-"

"Save it, Jake." Bella stood up angrily. "I know what you're going to say and you're wrong. I love Edward and he loves me. I'm not being forced into anything. It was my decision to go through with this wedding and soon I will be a vampire just like the Cullens. You can hate my decision all you want but- "

During Bella's ramblings, she didn't realize how close Jacob had gotten to her until he was standing directly in front of her, blocking her view from the rest of the house.

"What are you doing?" She said unsteadily. Her senses were completely overwhelmed with the essence that was Jacob Black.

"Don't leave me, Bella. Don't leave me for him. Stay. Please." Jacob was speaking softly, begging, pleading with his eyes, and trying to get Bella to understand the genuineness of his feelings for her. "I love you."

Bella had to look away to collect herself. The moment was so intimate that she almost couldn't bare it. "Jacob-"

"Please Bella. I know you love me too."

"Jacob Black." She said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Please say it."

"You know I love you…"Bella admitted. "but I love Edward too. And I chose him." Bella wiped at her eyes, smudging her perfectly painted-on makeup.

"I wont accept that. Especially after I've gone through all this trouble to get you here."

"You were crazy to do that." Bella couldn't believe the risk Jacob and her father had taken. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stay mad at them because they were just doing what they thought was best for her. That's all they ever wanted for her: what was best.

"Bella," Jacob was desperate now, "you agreed to come here! You could have said no but you didn't. You know what that means!"

"No." Bella began. "It doesn't mean anything."

"You're lying. I can always tell when you're lying."

"Shut up." Bella said, diverting her gaze from the man in front of her. It wasn't long ago that Jacob was just a little boy to her. He was so much more mature now.

Jacob gently lifted her chin, getting her to focus on him once more before he leaned down and kissed her. Bella didn't respond right away but when she did, Jacob's heart filled with joy. She was actually kissing him back. But it didn't take long for Bella to come back to her senses and she pulled away from him.

"I can't do this, Jacob," she said, staring down at the buttons lining the front of Jacob's white shirt. "I'm sorry." Bella slowly backed away from him, keeping her eyes diverted as she walked out the front door, leaving Jacob standing alone in the kitchen, feeling empty at the loss of her touch.

"Dad, can you drive me back please. I don't want to do this anymore." Bella said to her father once she reached the front porch.

"But Bella-" Charlie started.

"Dad, I've made my decision. Please take me back." Bella's voice was weak, but sure.

"I'm sorry." Charlie said, apologizing not just for taking her from her wedding, but for not being able to save her from the danger he now knew was out there. He didn't want to lose his daughter, but he couldn't keep her locked up forever either. He gave her a quick hug before he walked back over to the cruiser to take Bella back to the Cullen house and back to Edward's awaiting arms.

* * *

**So what do you think of chapter 3?**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

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It hadn't been a full hour since Bella was taken into La Push, and Edward was no longer waiting at the boarder, so, Charlie drove Bella all the way back to the Cullen's house. As they reached the large home, Charlie helped Bella with her dress to get out of the car and they headed to the front door. The bottom of her dress had gotten a bit dusty but her hair was mostly in tact. Before they were even able to knock, Edward tore open the door and pulled Bella tightly into his arms.

"You're back," Edward said, relieved.

Charlie stood awkwardly to the side, looking on in slight disappointment at his daughter's decision. He had always had a soft spot for Jacob and he was hoping that their plan would have worked. He knew it was his last chance at getting his daughter to change her mind about getting married so young. Before Charlie found out about Jacob, he was starting to be okay with Edward. He was still a little mad about Edward leaving his daughter in so much pain the year before, but Bella had forgiven him, and that made it easier for Charlie to forgive him too. Charlie just wanted the best for his daughter and nothing less. But he knew the moment Bella had asked to leave La Push, that he had failed her.

"Thank you for bringing her back." Edward said to Charlie over Bella's shoulder. Edward pulled back from his hug with Bella and grabbed her hands, looking her deep in the eyes. He loved her beautiful brown eyes. He would be sad to see them change to red, but he knew they would be a golden honey in no time. "Bella, I've convinced most of the guests to stay. It'll just be a few minutes to get them all settled again but that shouldn't be a problem. We can start in ten minutes." Edward began pulling her into the house.

Bella turned to look at her father's sad face before looking back to Edward who seemed completely oblivious of Bella's inner turmoil. "Edward, wait."

Edward stopped immediately, turning back to give her his full attention when he heard the hesitation in her voice. His smile dropped instantly after seeing the confliction that was written all over her face. "What's wrong?"

"Edward can we talk?" Bella whispered. Bella could see the horror on Edward's face as she said those four words. She knew that she had to get him away from her father as to not cause a scene. "Can we go upstairs, please?"

Edward nodded as he now allowed Bella to pull him along, up the stairs, and too his bedroom. Bella walked right over to the bed and sat on the edge, patting the spot next to her. Edward sat obediently, but he seemed to not be completely focusing on anything around him.

Bella had to take a deep breath to slow her rapidly beating heart. She knew Edward could hear it's flutter and that it was making him anxious to get the conversation started. "Edward," sighed Bella.

Edward turned to meet her gaze but his eyes seemed glazed over. "I know what you're going to say, and I can't say you're making the wrong decision. Honestly, I was never the best choice for you. I'm lethal. You should fear me, not love me. I never deserved your love. It was only by some miracle that we made it this far. "

Bella was in shock. She knew that Edward had felt inadequate before, but she thought he had gotten over it. She thought he would be trying as hard as he could to fight for her, but he wasn't. Jacob would have fought for her. Heck, Jacob _did_ fight for her. Up until the last minute he fought for her. Bella was disappointed that Edward was giving up so easily. It was their wedding day, for goodness sake! But, Edward's response only confirmed that she was doing the right thing at that moment.

"Edward, I love you. I've loved you since the beginning, and I will always love you. But what you just said…you aren't even fighting for me. You give up so easily. You gave up a year ago when you went to Italy and you're giving up on me now because you don't think you're good enough. I'm sorry, Edward. I need someone that is going to fight for me no matter what. I never in a million years thought that I would say this, but…it's over. I can't do this right now. Not like this." A tear slid down her perfectly smooth cheek.

"Bella, if you want me to fight for you, I'll fight for you! I just wanted to make your decision as easy as possible for you. Please, Bella. Don't leave me, especially for that mutt."

"Don't call Jacob that! He's my best friend and he only has my best interests at heart!"

"Please," he said sarcastically. "That dog just ruined our wedding."

"Maybe. But he isn't the only guilty one at the moment," she said quietly.

"Did he threaten you? Is that why you're saying all of this?"

"No. Jacob would never do that. I just realized that I can't do this. This wedding. I thought I could but I can't."

Edward was ashamed when she said that. He knew he wasn't good enough for her. He knew she was right to break things off. He practically asked her to leave him. He stood up and stared down at her stoically. "What should I tell everyone?"

Bella looked up at him, her view marred by the tears that were clouding her vision. "The truth. I'm not ready to get married. I'm sorry."

Edward nodded once and walked to the door. With his back to her, he said, "I'll always love you, Bella." Then he was gone.

All Bella wanted to do was lay down on that bed and cry. Everywhere she looked around the room she was reminded of a happier moment with her and Edward. She knew she had to get out of there before she went crazy. She knew she had to leave before the guests started looking for her and asking her what was going on. She didn't want to talk to them. She had something more important to do.

She ran to the room across the hall to grab her purse before going as quickly as she dared back down the stairs. Her father was nowhere to be found, which was good because she didn't want to have to admit at that moment that he was right. She knew that at that very moment, Edward was outside talking to the guests, and she wanted to be nowhere near the situation.

Since she had driven over in her own car the night before, she had her keys. She was grateful she wasn't at the mercy of her father's police cruiser. Bella got in her car and started to drive. She wasn't quite sure what she was doing, but fifteen minutes later, she was driving into La Push for the second time that day.

* * *

After Bella left, Jacob stood in the kitchen, praying that she would return. _This is just her way of messing with me. She'll be back in no time, _he told himself doubtfully. A minute went by and he heard Charlie start the cruiser. Another ten minutes and he knew she wasn't coming back. He found his dad in his room and told him he was going to Sam's.

Jacob didn't knock; he just walked in the house and found Sam sitting at his dining room table, polishing off a sandwich. He looked up at Jacob as he approached. "Is she gone?"

"She's gone." The words felt like acid in Jacob's mouth.

"Good riddance. She has caused nothing but trouble."

"How can you say that?" Jacob said in disbelief. "I love her."

"I know you do, but you have to get past this. There is nothing else you can do."

"I had to try..."

Sam ignored that comment. "Do you know how risky that little stunt was that you pulled today? You revealed our secret to an outsider and risked exposing yourself to anyone else that could have been watching. I'm putting you on extra patrol duty this week. Maybe you'll finally learn some discipline."

"You can't just do this!"

"Yes I can. I'm in charge, and you're going to do what I say."

"I don't have to do it if I don't want to! I'm alpha!"

"Not yet you aren't! You were gone for weeks. Do you really expect everyone to follow you when you've been so immature," said Sam. He was really starting to piss Jacob off.

"They will eventually! It's my blood right! And as of right now, I am taking it back!"

Sam looked at Jacob in shock. He knew that Jacob was the rightful Alpha of the pack, but he didn't expect for their conversation to go the way it had. But there was nothing he could do. If Jacob wanted his position as Alpha, Sam couldn't stop him. Sam just wished that Jacob was thinking rationally about the situation instead of acting on impulse.

"Fine. The position is all yours. I wish you the best of luck." Sam said sincerely.

Jacob didn't say anything else; he just turned and left. He knew he shouldn't have done that. He had undermined Sam, and that is something he didn't want to do. But Jacob was too lost to care at that moment. Feeling somewhat regretful of his decision to become Alpha, he made his way back to his home.

The screen door slammed behind him as he walked through it.

"Hey, Jake. Home so soon?" His father asked from the living room, with raised eyebrows.

"I'm not in the mood, okay?" Jake spat and went to his room, slamming the door once he passed the threshold.

Things were so much simpler for Jacob when he didn't know about werewolves or vampires; before he was a monster. Back when the only thing he had to worry about was his algebra homework and fixing cars. Back when Bella was all his and they would walk on the beach together without a care in the world.

Jacob paced his room, thinking about how the day had transpired. He was mentally exhausted and he knew he should try and get some rest to calm himself down, but it was hard to fall asleep when he knew that Bella was on the other side of town deciding that she was going to kill herself by turning into a vampire instead of choosing to remain human and be with him. He couldn't stand to see the life drained out of Bella's ivory face, never getting to see her beautiful blush again, or feel the warmth of her skin. But eventually a restless sleep overtook him as he dreamt of her.

Twenty minutes later, there was a pounding on his front door. He waited a minute to see if his dad would answer, but when he didn't, Jacob got up and answered it himself. Standing at the door was his friend Quil.

"What's up?" Jacob said, rubbing his left eye with the back of his hand, trying to wake himself up.

"I was on patrol and I saw Bella. She's on her way here." Quil surveyed Jacob's face for a second to see if what he said had registered before adding, "She's still human."

With that news, Jacob pushed passed Quil and ran for the road that led to the Reservation. He could hear the sound of Bella's car as it sped on the narrow road. A minute later, he saw her. Her beautiful human self was the best thing he had ever seen. She pulled over and slowed down to a stop as she noticed Jacob standing near the road. Not two seconds after she turned off the engine, she was being dragged out of the car and pulled into a tight hug. She was getting a lot of hugs that day.

"I though I lost you, Bells." She could hear Jacob saying softly into her hair. He was so happy to still be able to feel her warmth and smell her human scent.

"I'm not going anywhere." Bella mumbled and hugged him back with as much strength as she could muster.

It could have been minutes or days but Jacob didn't ever want to let go; he was afraid that if he did, she would run away from him again. But he wanted to know what had happened, and that was the only reason he released her from his tight grip.

"We need to talk." Bella said, confidently staring into Jacob's eyes.

"Yes, we do." Jacob hopped in the car and Bella followed suit, starting the car back up again and driving the rest of the way to Jacob's house. It was a short and quiet ride and Jacob could not keep his eyes off of her. All he knew was that by some miracle, Bella was next to him, and she was human.

* * *

**What do you think of chapter 4? Did Bella make the right decision?**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm really sorry it took so long to post this chapter. I've been so busy these past couple weeks. But, here it is. After this chapter I'm going to start establishing the real problem and the story will pick up a bit. Anyways...enjoy!**

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Chapter 5

* * *

It had been five minutes since the two of them had reached Jacob's house and Jacob continued to stare at Bella across the kitchen table with a bemused smile on his face.

Finally, Bella had had enough. "Will you cut it out?" she said.

Jacob seemed to be shaken from a trance. "Huh? Cut what out?"

Bella shook her head and smiled at Jacob's oblivion. "You keep staring at me." Bella said shyly.

"That's because you're so beautiful." Jacob said, unashamed.

Bella blushed. She would never get used to Jacob's boldness. "So let's talk," she said, ignoring Jacob's previous comment.

Jacob shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "Yes, let's." He waited for Bella to speak, but when she didn't, he said, "What made you change your mind about marrying Edward?"

Bella shrugged. She knew that one of the main reasons she cancelled the wedding was because of Jacob, but she wasn't ready to admit that quite yet. "I just wasn't ready to get married, I guess."

"There has to be more to it than that." Jacob leaned forward, giving Bella an intense stare as he tried to coax the real answer out of her. She just looked away in embarrassment. "Fine." He said, leaning back. "If that's the way you want it. I mean, I can't say I'm complaining that you called the whole thing off, it's just…" Jacob suddenly got really quiet, "I thought I lost you forever."

Bella could see the hurt in his eyes and she knew that she was the one that put it there. She felt like an awful friend for causing Jacob so much pain. She knew that he didn't deserve it. He had been there for her the whole time, through good and bad. When Edward left, Jacob had been there. When Edward had returned and they had to fight Victoria, Jacob had still been there. He was the best friend she could ever ask for. They had a few quarrels throughout the years but she knew he would never leave her for good.

"Edward is the only one that knew I left but Alice probably had a vision about it. I bet my mom is freaking out. I don't know about Charlie though. I should call him." Right when Bella said that, the phone in her purse started ringing. She quickly checked the caller ID. "It's my mom." Bella looked at the phone as if it were some foreign object.

"Are you going to answer that?" Jacob said, looking at Bella curiously.

Bella sighed and put the phone back into her purse. "She'll leave a message."

"You never cease to amaze me, Bella. This whole situation is a miracle."

As Jacob said that, Bella's eyes started to tear up. The reality of the situation was starting to hit her hard. She had lost Edward, she had given up her chance to become a vampire, and she had hurt her family and friends, especially Jacob.

Jacob noticed when a tear fell down Bella's cheek and puddled onto the wooden table below. "Bella, honey, don't cry. Please." He reached across the table to grab her hand.

Immediately, feeling Jacob's warmth, Bella felt ten times better. "I'm sorry I'm so emotional. You…you never gave up on me."

"Never."

They silently stared at each other again until a knock on the door broke their contact.

"Jake? You there?" It was Charlie.

Jacob let go of Bella's hand and walked to the door, opening it to reveal a worn out and tired man in front of him; the expression on his face was one of distress. Charlie ran his fingers through his hair and said, "Can I talk to Bella?"

Jacob nodded and led Charlie to the kitchen where Bella sat in a chair, leaning against the table and staring at the wall in front of her. As she heard her dad enter the room, she looked over. "Dad."

"Bella." Charlie said simply.

"Dad I'm so sorry," She began. "You were right. I was making the wrong decision to get married. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm too young. I don't know why I ever thought I could leave you and mom and Jacob for the rest of my life. You three mean everything to me."

Charlie took a seat in the chair that Jacob had previously occupied, leaving Jacob to take a seat next to Bella.

"Bella," Charlie paused, trying to think of what to say to his daughter. He knew that she had just made a really big decision that changed her future and he didn't want to say something he might regret. "I'm proud of you for being able to make such a grownup decision. It shows a lot of maturity. It might take you a while to get over this, but you made the right decision."

"I know I did." Bella said, looking over at Jacob and giving him a slight smile. After a moment though, her smile dropped. She looked down at her attire and sighed. "You didn't happen to bring me a change of clothes, did you, dad?" Bella felt silly that she was still wearing her wedding dress. She wanted to leave the house and talk to Jacob on the beach but she wasn't going to do it in a wedding dress.

"Got you covered, kiddo. Grabbed the clothes you left at the Cullen's house. They're in the cruiser."

"I've got it." Jacob said, standing up and leaving the room before Bella could protest.

Once Jacob left, Charlie gave his daughter a firm stare and spoke in a hushed tone. "Can you tell me what is going on? Did you know Jacob is a…a-"

"A werewolf?" Bella finished for him. "Yeah, I knew."

"For how long?"

"About a year."

"You've known for a year?" Charlie said incredulously.

"Yeah. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal!?"

"What's not a big deal?" Jacob said as he reentered the kitchen carrying Bella's clothes. He had a hint of a smile on his face. Of course he already knew what they were talking about. His wolf hearing was great for things like that.

"Nothing." Charlie mumbled.

"Here's your clothes, Bella." Jacob held out the clothes for her.

"Thanks, Jake." Bella quickly grabbed the clothes from his hands and rushed off to the bathroom to change.

Jacob sat down across from Charlie and started talking. "Charlie, you're more involved in all of this than I ever wanted you to be. It's not that I don't trust you, but any talk of what I am really can't leave this house. Yes, I'm a werewolf. I know that's a lot to take in, especially since werewolves are supposed to be mythical."

"Bella has known for a long time."

"She figured it out on her own."

"I just don't understand how any of this is even possible. I've known you your whole life. I think I would have remembered if you grew a tail."

Jacob laughed at Charlie's ridiculous comment.

"Jacob?" Bella said, standing in the entryway to the kitchen. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

Jacob looked over at her and took in her casual jeans and sweatshirt. She had also pulled all of the pins out of her hair and it slightly curled down her back. He loved seeing a relaxed Bella; he knew that dressing up made her uncomfortable. "Of course. Is that alright with you, Charlie?" Jacob asked out of respect.

"Just be careful," said Charlie, eyeing him cautiously.

Jacob almost leapt out of his seat in excitement, knowing that he be spending time with Bella at their favorite spot. He never thought it would happen again. They took Bella's car and parked it on the side of the road next to the beach. The wind was picking up a bit, but the sun was still shining brightly, a rarity for Washington. Once they were both out of the car, Jacob took Bella's hand and they began walking the length of the beach.

They walked in comfortable silence for a while until Bella said, "Can I be honest with you, Jake?"

Jacob stopped walking, forcing Bella to turn and look at him. "You can tell me anything," he said.

She spoke slowly, trying to decide how to put her thoughts into words. "I think I always knew that Edward and I wouldn't work out."

"Bella-" Jacob began.

"Wait. I need to finish this."

Jacob nodded in understanding, waiting for her to continue.

"I've always felt like there was something between you and I, but I was too scared to admit it. I even pushed my feelings for you away because I was dating Edward, and I loved Edward. But I loved you too" Bella sighed in frustration, removing her hand from Jacob's. "This sounds really bad."

"Do you still love him?" Jacob said softly.

"I almost married him."

"That wasn't my question."

"I know. And I think a part of me will always care about him. I do love him, but maybe not in the way I originally thought." Bella looked away, feeling uncomfortable with the whole conversation.

"Which way was that?"

"The way I feel about you," Bella said, almost inaudible to even Jacob's sensitive hearing.

Jacob's breath caught in his throat. He didn't know what to say. He was just in shock that she had admitted what she had.

He gently lifted her chin so her eyes would meet his. She looked pained at what she had said, the realization hitting her hard. He knew that Bella had a hard time admitting that she was wrong, especially about something so huge.

He slowly leaned towards her, trying to assess if she would stop him, then he kissed her. Bella responded immediately, letting Jacob know that this kiss would not end like the one in the kitchen had. He weaved his free hand in her hair, pulling her even closer, and in response, Bella wrapped her arms around Jacob's torso and the kiss intensified. Jacob would have stayed like that forever, but he knew that they had to get back to the house soon. Charlie was waiting to have a real conversation with Bella and Jacob wouldn't deny him of that.

Regretfully, Jacob pulled away from the kiss and leaned his forehead against Bella's. His heart was racing and he could hear Bella's as well.

"We should get back," he whispered, not wanting to disturb the moment.

Bella gave him a small nod and a slight smile. Jacob grabbed her hand again and intertwined their fingers as they walked back down the beach and to the car. Jacob wasn't quite sure what the kiss had meant for his and Bella's relationship, but he was excited to see where it would lead them. After Bella talked to her father, she and Jacob would have to have another talk.

* * *

**Questions? Comments? Let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**So I changed a couple of lines in chapter 4 because I got an idea that wouldn't work with what I previously had written. It has to do with the conversation Jacob has with Sam. I don't want to spoil the chapter though, so that's all I needed to say.**

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

They talked for an hour; Bella and Charlie went back and forth trying to explain their actions and the things that had transpired during the day. Luckily, Jacob was nearby to answer the questions that were unclear or the things that neither Bella nor Charlie wanted to admit to.

"So you're not going to change your mind about this?" Charlie asked for the third time.

Bella sighed in frustration. "No, dad. I'm not going to marry Edward."

"Okay. I just have to make sure."

"Are we done?" She asked impatiently.

"For now."

Bella rolled her eyes. She was done answering questions. She didn't want to have to explain her actions anymore. She just wanted her dad to understand that her mind had been made up and she was happy with her decision.

Bella got up and walked to the living room where Jacob was watching TV. She took a seat on the opposite end of the couch, not wanting him to jump to any conclusions about their relationship just yet. She still wanted to figure out exactly what she was feeling before she dragged Jacob into it. That is, if he still wanted to be dragged into it. She assumed yes; he _had_ stopped the wedding after all.

Right when she sat down, the phone in her pocket started ringing and she checked the name before answering it.

"Hey." She said timidly into the phone. Jacob looked at her curiously, trying to ask with his eyes who she was talking to.

Bella shook her head and held up a finger to indicate that she would just be a minute.

"Bella." Alice said frantically on the other side of the phone.

Jacob tensed when he heard her voice. He was glad that his super hearing was allowing him to hear the conversation. He didn't want Alice to trick Bella into going back to Edward.

"I've had a vision." Alice said.

"What vision?" Bella asked worriedly. Bella knew that after what had happened with the wedding, Alice would only have called if it was something important.

"Irina is going to the Volturi. She's going to tell them you didn't marry Edward."

Jacob growled. He knew that things were going to get bad. He didn't exactly know whom the vampires were that Alice was talking about, only that they couldn't be good if Alice was calling Bella about it.

"What do we do?" Bella asked, panicking.

"Bella I would like to help, but I don't know what I _can _do. I can only do so much to buy you some time. But even if you leave, they will find you. And if you stay in La Push, they will have no problem with going onto those lands. They weren't involved in the treaty."

"When will they be here?"

"Two weeks. Maybe less."

"Thank you, Alice. You didn't even have to tell me but you did anyway."

"That's what best friends are for." Bella could hear a sadness in Alice's voice that she had never heard before.

"I'll talk to you later, okay." Bella said before hanging up the phone.

Bella looked at Jacob nervously, knowing that he had heard everything Alice had said.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He said through his teeth, trying to keep his temper at bay. "Explain to me why these vampires want you."

Bella looked back to the kitchen to see what her dad was doing. She didn't want him to hear the conversation she was about to have with Jacob. Luckily, he was on the phone with someone so he wasn't paying her and Jacob any attention.

"The Volturi are the leaders of the vampire world and want me to become a vampire too. That's the deal I made with them last year. Humans aren't supposed to know about vampires, so I either have to become one or they're going to kill me."

"What?!" Jacob said, outraged at what he was hearing. "Is that why you were marrying Edward?"

"Not completely. Edward promised to change me himself only if we got married. If not, then Carlisle would have done it."

Jacob stood up and started pacing in front of Bella. "I can't believe what I'm hearing. I need to call a meeting. I need to come up with a plan."

"What do you mean? I highly doubt Sam will want to help me." Bella said softly.

"It's not up to Sam anymore. I'm the alpha now, and I'm going to protect you no matter what happens."

"When did you become alpha?" Bella asked shockingly.

"A couple hours ago." He shrugged.

"Jacob…"

"It's fine, Bella." He snapped, then he sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "Just give me a minute, okay?"

Bella nodded and watched as he ran out the backdoor and into the forest to phase and call a meeting. A minute later, he was back, buttoning up the pair of jeans he had changed into a couple hours before.

"I told everyone to meet at Sam's house in ten minutes."

"Am I invited?"

"This meeting is about you, so yeah, you're invited."

"Let me go tell Charlie I'm leaving." Bella walked to the kitchen with Jacob in tow.

"Hey, Bells, I've got to get going. That was your mother on the phone and she is not too happy about what's going on."

"I'm sorry," Bella said sincerely. "Jacob and I are going over to Sam's for a bit. I'll be home later tonight."

Charlie nodded. "Be careful."

"We will." Bella said. And with that, Charlie left Jacob's house to go back to Forks.

Ten minutes later, the whole pack, minus Paul and Brady who were out patrolling while the vampires were still in the area, were all situated around Sam's living room.

Everyone stared knowingly at Bella when she walked into the room. Bella instantly felt uneasy and wanted to leave. Half of the wolves were unhappy with her, and it was only a matter of time before someone spoke against Jacob's plan to help her. Bella took a seat next to Seth, the one person she knew who wasn't completely mad with her, and she waited for Jacob to explain his plan.

"I've called you here because some important things have happened today and you all need to be aware of how the next couple of weeks will transpire," said Jacob.

"Why don't you start by telling us when you became the alpha?" Leah rudely interjected.

There were uncomfortable mummers and glances between Sam and Jacob. Sam was the one who spoke first.

"Jacob is the rightful alpha. We all knew he was always destined to take on the role. You will respect him like you respected me." Although Sam could no longer command the pack, his words had a lot of weight to them, and the pack could easily hear the leadership in Sam's tone. They did respect him and they would do what he asked of them.

After Sam was done speaking, he looked up at Jacob expectantly and Jacob slightly nodded back in appreciation.

"So, I'm sure you've all noticed that Bella is here," Jacob started. Once again, the pack focused their attention on her and she sunk further back into the couch. Seth detected her unease and patted her knee comfortingly. Jacob glared at Seth for a moment before continuing what he had to say.

"I'm also sure you can tell that Bella didn't get married. That being said, the Volturi, who are the leaders of the vampire world, now want to kill her because she isn't going to become a vampire. I'm not going to allow that to happen."

"We'll have to fight." Sam said calmly. A few of the pack members nodded in agreement. Bella felt an undeserved love radiating from her former friends. That is, until Leah started talking again.

"Why should I risk my life for her?" Leah said crudely. "She singlehandedly destroyed the order of this pack.

"Leah-" Seth began.

"She's right," Bella interrupted; respecting the fact that Leah was the only one brave enough to voice her opinion. Leah could be harsh, but she was right about a lot of things. "I don't deserve help from any one of you."

"Bella, that's not true. We're going to help you; Leah included." Jacob said, giving Leah a harsh stare.

"Why do you even care so much, Jacob? I hurt you! There's no reason why you should still want to help me!" Bella said, her voice raising with her frustration. Jacob was being extremely kind to her and Bella did not want to take advantage of him or the pack. It was Bella's problem and she wanted to find her own way out of it.

"You're my best friend. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you," Jacob said calmly, giving all his attention to Bella. Bella had to look away; the intensity of Jacob's gaze was too much for her. She had seen the love in his eyes and felt extremely guilty for all the times she had hurt him.

"I shouldn't be. Not anymore. Not after what I've done. You should just let me die." Bella said, glancing up to see a distressed expression on Jacob's face at the comment she had just made.

The room was silent while Bella and Jacob painfully stared at each other. Eventually, Leah had to ruin the moment again.

"You haven't told her yet, have you?" Leah sneered at Jacob, who tore his gaze from Bella to scowl at Leah.

"Told me what?" Bella asked.

"Leah, don't." Sam said cautiously.

"Told me what?" Bella repeated, looking at Sam for information.

"Don't say anything," Sam said to Leah, ignoring Bella's questioningly glance. "This is not your news to tell."

Leah was frustrated with Sam's request, but she kept her mouth shut.

Bella looked around to see if anyone was going to tell her what was going on, but when no one in the room seemed willing, not even Leah, Bella stood up and walked to Jacob, affectionately placing her right palm on his face. Jacob quickly diverted his gaze from Bella.

"Jacob, please look at me," she said softly.

Jacob slowly turned his gaze back to Bella, tenderly staring into her chocolate brown eyes. "I imprinted." He said, barely a whisper.

Bella dropped her hand from Jacob's face and took a step back. Her eyes started to heat up with tears that she would not allow to fall, but her eyes never left Jacob's.

Jacob started to look pained at the distance Bella was putting between them. He didn't want to say anything, but Leah had made that impossible. Jacob couldn't ignore Bella's pleading eyes.

Bella took a deep breath before speaking again. "Who?" She said simply.

The whole room had gotten quiet, intently watching the scene that was transpiring before them.

"Can we talk about this later?" Jacob asked Bella hopefully.

She shook her head. "No. I have to know."

Jacob took a large, steadying breath and ran a hand through his hair again; a nervous habit he seemed to have picked up. "It's you."

Bella looked at him as if he had grown another head or something. "What?" She said, shocked. "How…how is that possible? I knew you when you became a werewolf and nothing happened."

"It actually did. That first time I saw you after I started phasing…that's when it happened. I've just been pretending like it wasn't a big deal." Jacob said nervously, looking past Bella and giving someone a meaningful look.

Bella bit her lip and tried to keep the large pools in her eyes from falling, but that proved unsuccessful. She heard rustling behind her and a door opening and closing. She assumed that the rest of the pack had left her and Jacob alone while they discussed the situation; something she was grateful for.

"That was over a year ago…"

"Yeah."

"And you were going to let me marry Edward?"

"If you recall, I did stop that," Jacob said with a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

Bella took a seat on the couch she had previously been on and Jacob followed her lead by taking a seat next to her. He sat so close to her that his right leg was touching her left leg. Bella felt a shiver run through her.

"I wanted you to make your own decision, so that's why I didn't tell you," said Jacob.

"I've put you through so much," said Bella, thinking of all the times that Jacob had to watch her and Edward together. She though of that time when Jacob comforted her about Edward when he had run off to Italy. She thought of the hurt in Jacob's eyes when he found out she and Edward were engaged. Everything was starting to make sense for her.

As if Jacob had been able to read where Bella's thoughts had taken her, he took her hands in both of his and said, "That's why I was never able to get over you. I tried so hard to forget about you and the fact that you thought you were in love with Edward, but I couldn't. You're my soul mate, Bella. And deep down, you know that. You've always known that. You've finally made your decision."

Bella had so many things going through her head at that moment, but the question that managed to escape her lips was, "Did Edward know?"

"He's pretty good at reading minds." Jacob scoffed.

Bella couldn't believe what she was hearing. Jacob had imprinted on her and he didn't tell her because he wanted to give her a choice. Bella originally chose Edward, and Edward allowed that to happen, even though he knew that she was Jacob's imprint. But when Bella called off the wedding, Edward didn't really fight her. He knew all along that there was the possibility of Bella leaving him for Jacob because imprints couldn't be apart from each other for very long.

It made Bella mad that everyone knew about the imprint but didn't tell her. But then again, she was glad that she was allowed a choice. But did she really choose Jacob? Or was it the imprint that brought her back to him? She liked to think that she was the one to choose him. She still wasn't completely sure about the intensity of her feelings for Jacob, but she was willing to find out. Only time would reveal the truth.

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**Thoughts? Comments? Let me know what you think of chapter 6!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I am super sorry for not posting a new chapter in so long! I have been extremely busy with school and work and I have had very little time to myself. Then, when I did sit down to write this ****chapter, I was at a complete loss. So, this is what I ended up with and it gives a bit of new information, but not much. I hope you like it! **

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Chapter 7

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Bella sat alone on her bed in her dark room, listening to the rain that lightly tapped on her window. Her mind was full of memories of the events that had transpired during the day. She had broken off the wedding and she had found out that she was Jacob's imprint. The day hadn't exactly turned out how she had originally planned. After Jacob told her about the imprint, Bella told him that she needed to go home and think. Jacob agreed that that was a good idea and walked her to her car.

To say that she was a little freaked out was an understatement. Bella was at a loss of what to do. She thought she loved Jacob, but was that a lie? Was it only the imprint that had brought her back to him? Jacob had said that the reason he didn't tell Bella about the imprint was because he wanted her to make her own choice. In the end, Bella chose to leave Edward for Jacob. Maybe she was overthinking the whole imprinting thing, but just the thought of being someone's soul mate was a little scary. Jacob had no doubts about wanting to be with her, he was just waiting for her decision.

Minutes passed and Bella was nowhere nearer to understanding everything. She slightly jumped when she heard a light rap on her window that was clearly out of rhythm with the rain's dainty pitter-patter. She looked over to see Edward's white face glowing in the moonlight outside of her window as he balanced on the tree branch. She exhaled the breath she had been holding and walked over to her window, opening it just enough to let Edward inside.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered, not wanting to disturb the silence that had consumed the room just moments before.

"I needed to see you one last time," Edward voice rasped as he followed Bella's lead in staying quiet.

"Well, you see me." Bella took up a spot at the edge of her bed, looking down at her hands so she didn't have to meet Edward's eyes. She was ashamed of her poor behavior earlier that day. Edward had risked so much for her and she felt like she was throwing it back in his face by choosing Jacob.

Edward sighed and sat next to Bella on the bed. "The real reason I came here was to say goodbye."

Bella looked up at him sadly. "I figured as much. I'm so sorry Edward."

"I understand. I believe Jacob told you about the imprinting?" Edward said. Bella nodded in response. "I'm so sorry I kept it from you. I just thought that if you knew then you would leave me. I guess you didn't even need to know about the imprint for that to happen."

"Ouch. I guess I deserved that. But you still should have said something."

"It wasn't my news to tell. It was his." Edward got up from the bed and kneeled in front of Bella, taking her hands in his. "Bella this is important."

Bella looked at him curiously, hearing the urgency in his voice. "What is?"

"Married or not, I'm going to make sure you're taken care of."

"What do you mean?" Bella had a feeling she already knew what Edward meant, but she was hoping it wasn't true.

"I'm going to give myself up to the Volturi. They've always been interested in my gift and I think it can stop them, at least for a while, from trying to get to you."

Tears began to pool in Bella's eyes. "Edward you can't do that. Everyone keeps risking their lives for me and there's no point. I'm just a stupid human! I can't do anything right! And don't tell me I'm being overdramatic because you know it's true. There is no reason for you or Jacob or anyone else to want to help me."

"I'm going no matter what anyone says. I'm sorry, love." Edward reached out a hand to gently cup Bella's face. "This might be the last time I ever see you." He stood up and walked towards the window. He stood facing the world outside as he said, "Goodbye Bella. I'll always cherish every moment we spent together."

"Goodbye Edward. Be safe." Bella said with tears on her cheeks. In another moment, Edward was gone. Bella got up to close the window to block out the rain that had picked up, and then went back to lie down in her bed. Pulling the blankets up to her neck, she silently cried herself to sleep.

The next morning Bella awoke, with heavy eyelids, to a door slamming downstairs and raised voices. Seconds after that, there were loud footsteps on the stairs and then her door opened timidly. She was facing the window so she couldn't see who had entered the room, but the person slightly jostled the bed as they laid down behind her and put a rather large hand on her hip. Bella slightly smiled as she took in Jacob's musky scent. Moments later, she was asleep once more.

Bella woke again an hour later to light snores coming from the person she had been using as a pillow. Bella sighed in content as she lightly rubbed her hand on Jacob's chest, and the arm that was wrapped around her pulled her closer.

"Morning, Bells." Jacob mumbled, his eyes still closed.

"How come you're in my bed?"

"You smell like a leech," Jacob said, ignoring Bella's question.

"Edward came to say goodbye last night," Bella said quietly, not knowing how Jacob would react.

"I know." Jacob's eyes were still closed so he couldn't see the strange expression that crossed Bella's face.

"What do you mean you know?" Bella was quite confused at Jacob's reaction.

Jacob opened one eye for a second to look at Bella before closing it again and answering. "He called me last night. I figured it was fine, considering I won." Jacob's lips turned up in a bit of a smirk.

"Jacob Black!" Bella lightly punched him in the chest and tried to sit up but Jacob's tight grip wouldn't allow her to.

"Geeze, calm down, Bella," he huffed.

"Calm down? Did he tell you what he's about to do?"

"Yeah, he did." Jacob said, finally opening both of his eyes to look at Bella, who just stared at him pointedly. "Look, if he wants to go and be all noble then that's fine with me; just as long as he leaves you alone."

"But he's risking his life for me," Bella said.

"He's always risking his life for you. It's nothing new. Just like I'll always risk my life for you." Jacob shrugged.

Bella decided to leave it alone for the time being, knowing that she would get nowhere by talking to Jacob. Jacob hated Edward and he wouldn't care what happened to him. "So what was going on downstairs earlier?"

"You heard that?" Jacob said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to wake you up. Your dad was just mad because I told him about the imprint…he wasn't too keen on letting me be in your room with you alone; especially now that he knows I'm here to stay." Jacob slightly smiled and kissed the top of Bella's head.

"You know I told you I needed time to think about everything…" Bella said quietly.

Jacob looked at her worriedly. "You want me to leave?"

Jacob made to get up but Bella pushed him back down with what little strength she had. Her push didn't actually have an effect on him, but Jacob complied with her gentle shove. "No. Please don't go. I feel so much more complete when you're here."

"Then why do you need time to think? It seems you already have your answer."

"I'm scared, Jacob." Bella whispered. "I've only just broken up with Edward and I'm scared to start a relationship with you. You've been my best friend for as long as I can remember and now that I can see you as more than that I…"

"You what? You feel bad because you want this to happen and you feel like you shouldn't? You feel bad because you know what we have between us is right and you made a mistake before?" Jacob sighed. "Bella, take a chance. Don't fight this. Just for once, let yourself be happy. Don't beat yourself up over this because what's done is done and I'm ready to move on with our lives together. I've waited for you for years and now we can finally be together."

Bella regarded the strained look on her best friend's face. "I love you, Jacob. Even if nothing else in this world makes sense anymore, I know that to be true." Bella suddenly felt a surge of confidence and she leaned in to capture Jacob's lips with hers.

* * *

An hour later, Jacob and Bella were both at the breakfast table with Jacob shoveling a huge bowl of cereal and Bella looking on bemused at how someone could eat so much.

"So if it's alright with you, I was hoping we could spend the day together." Jacob said between spoonful's.

"Sure, if you don't mind coming with me to talk to my mom. She's a little crazy about what happened yesterday."

A horrified look crossed Jacob's face. "I don't want to do that…"

"I'm sure she doesn't hate you," Bella smirked. "She just doesn't know the whole story and she will have to live with that. I don't want my mom involved in any of this."

"Agreed. Renee doesn't need to know." Jacob stopped eating his cereal and stared into his bowl thoughtfully. "Bella…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm worried."

"Why? My mom will get over it and everything will be fine."

"No, I'm not worried about your mom. I'm worried about the Volturi." Jacob sighed. "I keep trying to think of a plan but everything is so screwed up. I think I made a huge mistake taking the alpha position from Sam. The pack is angry with me and if I fail this, if I lose them, if I lose _you,_ then I'll never be able to live with myself."

Bella was silent as she tried to figure out what to say. Minutes passed, and in the end, Jacob was the one to talk again. "Let's go. We don't want to keep your mom waiting."

Bella nodded and stood up, cleaning off the table before leaving the house with Jacob.

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**Thoughts? Comments? Let me know what you think of chapter 7! P.S. it was my birthday the other day! A perfect present would be to get some feedback on any of the chapters! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

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After a long and uneventful two weeks had passed, Bella decided to take a trip to Port Angeles with her high school friend, Angela, unbeknownst to Jacob.

They took a seat outside at one of the small tables that littered the sidewalk in front of the café. They chatted about the wedding and Bella told Angela her fears, being sure not to reveal anything supernatural. The clouds were out, as usual, but the sun did make an unexpected appearance for a while, allowing the two of them to bask in the warmth that emanated from it. Bella was never able to go out in public with Edward on sunny days. Things were a lot different since she started seeing Jacob.

The two girls enjoyed their lunch, all the while, a hooded figure in all black hid in the shadows watching them interact.

After finishing lunch and walking around the streets downtown, it came to be three o'clock, and the two of them decided to head back to Forks, leaving the unknown hooded figure behind.

The rest of the day passed by with Bella curled up next to Jacob on his living room couch in La Push, watching a movie. Happily, Bella had not been feeling too guilty about breaking off the wedding. As each new day arrived and she spent more time with Jacob, Bella found herself more and more confident that she had made the right decision.

As the day turned into night and Bella found herself increasingly more tired, Jacob told her that he would be driving her home, refusing to listen to her protests. They sat in comfortable silence the whole way to Forks, but once they arrived at Bella's house, Jacob shut off the car and turned to look at Bella.

"Hey Bella…" Jacob said timidly.

"Yes, Jacob?" Bella murmured.

"Your dad called my house today, asking for you."

Suddenly, Bella wasn't tired anymore and she looked at Jacob with a bit of shame in her eyes. "And what…what did you tell him?"

"I told him you fell asleep and that I would take you home later." Jacob said, giving Bella a pointed look. "Bella where were you before you came over to my house? I thought you were at home with your dad before he called. I almost had a panic attack."

"I'm sorry, I've just been sick of having to be stuck at home or at the reservation. I went to Port Angeles to have lunch with Angela."

"Stuck? That's how you feel?" Jacob said, the hurt showing in his eyes. "The reservation is going to be your home one day, Bella, but only if you keep yourself safe. I can't keep you safe if I don't know where you are!"

"I'm fine!" Bella's voice rose in frustration.

"That's not the point!" Jacob growled. He took a deep breath to calm himself before saying, "I can't lose you, Bella. You know the Volturi are out there waiting to take you from me. Please, please don't do that again."

"I don't want you to control me! Edward always controlled me, and look how that turned out!" Bella huffed.

Jacob winced. "I'm not trying to control you. I just want to make sure you aren't taken from me and turned into one of_ them_. I'm sorry if you don't like how I handle things."

Bella sighed. "I promise I wont do it again," she said, reaching for the door handle to get out of the car.

"Hey, no goodbye kiss?" Jacob said with a hint of humor in his voice.

"I'm angry with you." Bella said, looking back at Jacob, hardly being able to keep a straight face. She could never stay mad at Jacob for long, even when he was being a jerk.

"I see." Jacob said, trying to contain a smile.

Bella nodded and got out of the truck to walk up the path to her house. Before she could even take more than two steps, she was wrapped in Jacob's warm arms.

"I'm sorry, Bella. Sometimes I just get a little too protective of you. I know you can take care of yourself, but I'm your boyfriend, and I'm also your imprint. I think it's only fair that I freak out a little bit."

Bella rested her head on his chest, taking in his familiar musky scent. "I love you Jacob."

"I love you too." He said, affectionately laying his head on top of Bella's.

The clearing of a throat ruined the gentle moment. Both Jacob and Bella looked up to see Charlie standing in the doorway glaring at Jacob.

"Thanks for driving her home." Charlie said. "Now it's time for Bella to come inside."

Bella rolled her eyes and whispered to Jacob, "You aren't the only one that is overprotective."

Jacob smirked. "I'll see you tomorrow." He gave Bella a brief kiss, nodded once to Charlie and ran into the woods to phase.

"Unbelievable." Bella muttered irately as she walked past her dad into the house.

"Bella, wait a minute."

"What?" Bella stopped her climb up the stairs to turn around and frown at her dad.

"Are you okay, kiddo?" Charlie asked, not unkindly.

"Yeah, why?" Bella said, taken aback by the shift in her father's mood.

"I just haven't seen much of you lately. You always seem to be over at the Black's house…Can we talk?"

"Sure." Bella made her way back down the stairs and took a seat at the kitchen table, waiting for her dad to follow suit. He tensely took a seat across from her, making Bella immediately aware that the conversation would be an uncomfortable one. "What's up, dad?"

Charlie cleared his throat nervously. "So, umm, you've been spending a lot of time with Jake, lately."

"Yeah…?"

"It's just, uh, Jake's a good guy."

"I know that." Bella looked at her dad with an odd expression on her face. "What are you trying to say?"

"Well you're a young woman and you're smart. I just want to make sure that you and Jake are being smart…" Charlie's face turned red.

"Dad, are you trying to talk to me about sex?" Bella asked, horrified.

"I just, umm…"

"You really don't need to worry about it. It's not like that…"

"Oh…good." Charlie looked around the room agitatedly, trying not to look Bella in the eyes.

"Can I go now?" Bella wanted to get out of there as fast as she could. She knew that she and Jake would have a good laugh at it later, but at the moment, Bella was very uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"Sure," Charlie mumbled. "Goodnight."

Bella got up as quickly as she could, rushing to get away from the kitchen and her father. As she passed by the living room, a movement outside the window caught her attention. She walked closer to the window and saw a pair of eyes glowing in the moonlight. Bella screamed and her father rushed into the room with his gun in his hands.

"What is it?" He said, quickly scanning the room.

Bella pointed to the window. "I saw something! Someone is out there!"

Charlie made for the door but Bella grabbed the back of his shirt. "Dad, don't! We don't know who it is! It could be a vampire!"

"A _what_?!"

"Oops, did I forget to mention that there were vampires?"

"Yes, you did! Call Jacob!" Charlie said, turning off the light so he could see out of the window without a reflection, gun at the ready.

Bella dialed Jacob's number, hoping he had made it home already to be able to answer. Luckily, he answered his phone after two rings. "Jacob," Bella whispered.

"Bella? What's wrong? Why are you whispering?" Jacob said worriedly.

"There is someone outside. I saw eyes. I don't know who it is." Bella felt tears fall slowly down her cheeks. She knew that the vampires would be coming for her sooner or later, but she was hoping it would be later. Edward said he left to try and hold off the Volturi, but it seemed as if he failed. Bella wondered what actually happened to him if the Volturi were, indeed, outside of her house.

"Bella? Bella are you still there?" Jacob said, panicking. Bella had been lost in thought and didn't realize that Jacob had been trying to get her attention.

"What? Yes I'm still here."

"Good. I said to make sure everything is locked and stay away from the windows. I'm on my way." And with that, the call ended. Bella stared at the phone in her hand like it was some foreign object. Was that the last time she was going to get to talk to Jacob? Was the kiss they had before he left that night, their last? She had been mad at him for being so overprotective but that all seemed silly now.

"Bella? What did Jacob say?" Charlie asked, puling Bella out of her trancelike state.

"He said to stay away from the windows. He'll be here as soon as he can." Bella said quietly.

Charlie sighed and walked over to his daughter, giving her an awkward side hug. "It'll be alright, kiddo. Between me and Jake, we wont let anything happen to you."

"But I don't want anything to happen to you and Jake, either."

"Don't worry about us. We'll be fine. We're always fine," Charlie tried to reassure his daughter.

A couple of minutes later, Bella and Charlie heard the angry snarls of a pack of wolves running by the house. Bella immediately tensed and her and Charlie listened intently to what was going on outside. Bella peaked over her father's shoulder to look out the window. She saw a large black wolf, knowing immediately that it was Sam. Bella kept hoping to see Jacob to know that he was alright, but she didn't see anyone else, she only heard the fight.

"What's happening out there?" Charlie was also trying to see what was going on. "Sounds like Jacob has a lot more to deal with than just one vampire. I thought I saw a bear!"

Bella forgot that Charlie didn't know about the rest of the pack. He only knew what Jacob had told him, and as far as he was concerned, Jacob was the only wolf. "That wasn't a bear, dad…that was Sam…"

"What? Sam who? Sam Uley?" Charlie asked incredulously. "He's a wolf too?"

"There is a whole pack, dad…"

"A pack? A pack of wolves? What in the world! Why didn't Jake mention this?"

Bella looked away, not answering Charlie's question. A couple of extremely long minutes later, the fight seemed to have stopped and everything was eerily quiet.

A knock sounded at the front door and both Bella and Charlie jumped in surprise. Charlie slowly walked to the door, gun cocked and ready to shoot whomever decided to barge into the house.

"Do you think it's a vampire?" Charlie whispered.

"I doubt a vampire would knock, dad."

"Bella?" Jacob said through the closed door.

"It's Jake!" Bella pushed past her dad and opened the door without a second thought. Sam and Quil were at the door, holding Jake up between them. A quick look let Bella know that Jacob was hurt. "Oh my gosh! What happened?" She moved to the side and let Sam, Quil, and Jake pass. They laid him on the couch as Charlie and Bella followed them into the living room. Bella kneeled next to Jake and took his hand in hers. "Where are you hurt?"

"My leg. I think it's broken." Jacob said, pain laced in his voice.

Bella looked down at Jacob's exposed calves to see a huge gash with blood pooling. She held back a gag at the sight of the blood and put on a brave face, looking at Sam for help. "What do we do?"

"We have to get him back to the reservation so the doctor can set it before the bone heals itself improperly. If it heals too quickly then it will have to be broken again."

"Is it safe to go outside?" Bella inquired.

Quil nodded once and crossed his arms across his chest. "The rest of the pack is still out there patrolling. We're safe for the time being."

"Get him to the cruiser. I'll turn on the sirens and everything." Charlie said to Sam and Quil, who quickly complied with his request. They laid Jacob in the back of the cruiser and Bella took the passenger seat. Once everyone was secure, Charlie turned on the lights and sirens, racing to La Push as Sam and Quil followed behind in wolf form.

Charlie sped on the highways and they made it to La Push in half the time it normally took to get there from Forks. Before they knew it, Jacob was in an exam room with the Reservation doctor and Bella, Charlie, and Quil were in the waiting room. Sam had gone back to the pack once he saw that the others had made it to the small doctor's office safely.

The minutes passed by slowly as they waited for news on Jacob's injury. "So are you going to tell me what happened?" Bella asked, no longer being able to stand the silence.

Quil turned to her, studying her expression before starting. "Well, it was the Volturi, just as expected."

"The Voltuiri?" Charlie asked confusedly.

"Vampire royalty." Quil replied.

"Why would they be here?"

"It's a long story, dad. How many were there?" Bella asked, trying to steer the conversation away from the Volturi.

"Two of them. One of them was this really big guy. He was super strong; even stronger than your average vamp. We had the other one on the run when the strong one showed up out of nowhere and attacked. He was about to take out Seth but Jacob jumped in front and took the worst of it. I don't think the vamp was expecting all of us though. We took him out pretty quickly."

"Is Seth okay?" Bella asked. She had always liked Seth and didn't want anything to happen to him, let alone any of the other members of the pack.

"Yeah he's fine, just a few scratches. They're probably healed by now anyway." Quil said.

"You said there were two," Charlie said. "What about the other one that you were chasing?"

"He got away. He was quick." Quil said regretfully.

"Who was it?"

Quil shook his head. "Didn't see his face. Both of them were wearing long robes with hoods. I guess they didn't want their identities compromised.

Bella sighed. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Jake will be fine, Bella. It's just a broken leg." Quil placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Not that. It's this whole thing. You guys are getting hurt because of me." Bella wrapped her arms around herself.

Quil shrugged. "We were made to fight vampires. Doesn't matter who they're after, we're going to kill them."

A minute later, the doctor walked out and told them that they could see Jacob. Jacob looked like he was in a lot less pain and Quil was easily able to get him back to the cruiser so Charlie could drive him home.

Once at the Black's house, Quil and Bella helped Jacob into bed while Billy followed behind trying to get answers. After he was assured that Jacob would be okay, he left them alone and went to thank his good friend Charlie for taking care of his son. Quil mumbled something about going back to patrolling with the pack, which just left Bella with Charlie and Billy in the living room.

"Is it alright if I stay here with Jacob tonight?" Bella asked Billy, trying to avoid looking at her father.

"I think it would be a good idea for you and Charlie to stay tonight. If there is still one of them out there, then you'll be much safer here with the pack to protect you." Billy said, mostly looking at Charlie as he said it. He knew his friend could be stubborn sometimes and wasn't sure if he would agree.

"Okay." Charlie said simply, surprising Bella and Billy.

Billy nodded in approval. "Charlie, why don't you take the couch and Bella can take Rachel's old room."

Twenty minutes later, it was two in the morning and everyone was settled. After Bella was sure that her dad was asleep, she quietly snuck out of her room and across the hall into Jacob's. The medicine the doctor had given him for the pain had made Jacob sleep and he didn't even budge when Bella walked in. She ever so gently laid down beside him on his small bed, careful not to jostle his hurt leg, and took his warm hand into hers. "I love you, Jacob." She whispered, pressing a light kiss to his cheek. She took comfort in his warmth and closeness and the fact that he was going to be alright before peacefully drifting off to sleep.

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**Thoughts? Comments? Let me know what you think of chapter 8!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

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The next morning, Bella was awoken by Jacob's bedroom door flying open and slamming into the wall. "Isabella Marie Swan! You get away from that boy right now!"

Bella's eyes flew open and an alarmed expression crossed her face as she saw her dad standing in the middle the doorway, shooting daggers in her direction. Charlie's entrance had been so loud that even Jake's medication from the night before couldn't keep him asleep.

Jacob looked down to see Bella nestled beside him and wondered when she had come into his room. He grabbed her hand and gave it a tight squeeze before also setting his gaze on Charlie. Charlie face was bright red and he looked like steam was about to come out of his ears like in the old cartoons.

Bella gripped Jacob's hand, reassured by his warm and caring touch.

"Bella! Did you hear what I said?" Charlie said impatiently.

Bella let out a defeated breath. "Dad, it's not what it looks like."

"And what is it then? I went to your room to ask you what you wanted for breakfast and you weren't there! I thought maybe vampires had taken you and so I went to alert Jacob! Instead I discover that it wasn't vampires, but something much worse! I find my daughter in bed with her boyfriend!"

During Charlie's rant, Billy had silently rolled his wheelchair up behind him, trying to peak into the room and see what was going on. "Charlie, I highly doubt you need to worry. Jacob here was out cold thanks to that pain medication." Billy said calmly.

"That's not the point." Charlie argued, finally taking his eyes off of the scared couple to look at his friend. "The point is that my daughter shouldn't be in your boy's room, let alone in his bed!"

"Bella," Billy began. "Why don't you come and help me out in the kitchen?"

Bella nodded and reluctantly pulled herself away from Jacob, giving him a longing glance before making her way past her father and Billy to the kitchen. Charlie instantly followed behind, continuing to talk at Bella loudly.

Jacob watched the whole scene unfold, trying to think about what to say to his dad who only smiled and winked at him before rolling his wheelchair back down the hall.

_What a way to wake up._ Jacob thought to himself as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He looked down at his leg to see that the gash from the night before was completely healed, not even leaving behind a scar. He tried moving his leg to see if the bone was also healed. Mostly. He was able to move it but it was still a bit sore. He was just glad that he had super werewolf healing or he would have been stuck with crutches for a while.

Jacob rubbed at his eyes to wake himself up and then ran a hand through his messy bed hair, trying to contain it. Slowly swinging his legs over the bed and into a standing position, Jacob tested his weight on his hurt leg. When he felt like he wouldn't fall over, he took a step towards the door. Stretching his leg made it feel better and he was able to walk into the kitchen to join the others. When Charlie noticed that Jacob was in the room, he looked at him curiously before going back to his original glare.

Jacob took one glance down at his own appearance, which let him know that he was not wearing a shirt. He was only dressed in his cutoff jeans from the night before. He assumed that that was partially the reason for Charlie's glare. And the curious stare he gave was probably because Jacob was already up and walking as if the broken leg had never happened. Charlie had been told that werewolves heal quickly, but he probably wasn't expecting a broken leg to be mended in only a few hours.

Jacob directed his glance to Bella who was facing away from him, her beautiful, wavy, long brown hair, falling down her back. She turned around to place a plate of eggs on the table and Jacob caught her eye and smiled as she blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Are you hungry, Jake?" she asked timidly.

"I'm always hungry." Jacob said, taking a seat across from Charlie. Billy was on his right, and after placing everything on the table, Bella took a seat on his left.

"Looks like you're doing a lot better," Bella said happily.

"Yup, barely feel a thing," Jacob said simply, scooping a mountain full of eggs and hash browns onto his plate.

"Jacob, save some for the rest of us." Billy chuckled and took the spoon away from his son.

"Sorry." Jacob muttered and began shoveling food into his mouth.

"So what happens now?" Bella asked Jacob inquiringly.

"I need to meet with the pack and discuss what happened and what our next move is going to be." Jacob said. "We weren't as prepared as I would have liked to have been. We're just lucky that we got there in time." He put down his fork and lovingly grabbed Bella's hand and kissing her palm.

Charlie didn't say a word, but his glares got even more intense as Jacob did that. He briefly wondered when the laser beams were going to shoot out of Charlie's eyes and kill him on the spot. The image made Jacob chuckle.

"What's so funny, boy?" Charlie grumbled.

"Nothing," Jacob said quickly and dropped Bella's hand. "I have to go." He stood up abruptly and ran outside to phase and call a meeting.

They all met at Sam's house fifteen minutes later, minus Jared, Embry, and Leah who were out patrolling.

"Glad to see you're alright, Jake." Sam said.

"Thanks." Jacob nodded once at Sam and then began the meeting. "First order of business: Quil, what did you tell Bella last night?"

"I told her we killed one and that the other got away. I also told her that we didn't know who it was…"

Jacob crossed his arms over his bare chest. "Good. She doesn't need to know that Edward was the one trying to kill her."

"There has to be another motive." Seth chimed in. "Edward would never kill Bella."

"He's one of them now. He's not just an inconvenient annoyance anymore; he's a Volturi." Collin said.

"Seth is right, though." Sam said, giving Jacob a meaningful look."

"Volturi or not, he's a vampire. And we kill vampires."

"Bella would hate you if you killed him. She would never forgive you." Seth said.

Jacob sighed, running his hand over his face. "All we can do right now is keep up the extra patrols. When the time comes, we can't hesitate. I refuse to let any of you die because you're sympathetic towards that leech." He looked pointedly at Seth who shrunk back into the couch. "Sam, I want you and Paul to take the next shift."

"Sure thing." Sam said.

Jacob dismissed the meeting and went back to his house to check on how Bella was doing.

* * *

Edward's time with the Volturi had not been pleasant. When he told his family he was leaving, they didn't want him to go but they knew that nothing they could say would keep him from doing all that he could to protect Bella.

Edward knew all along that joining the Volturi was a possibility. Bella was Jacob's imprint, and although he hoped that it was a mistake, he wasn't surprised when Bella said she changed her mind about the wedding.

After Edward had visited Bella that last night to say goodbye, he went straight to Italy. Once he reached Volterra, he begged Aro to leave Bella alone and let her live out her life as a human. When Aro refused, Edward offered his services in exchange for Bella's protection. Aro was only too keen to add Edward to his prized collection of vampire talent, and agreed that Edward would become a member of the Volturi Guard. Although Aro accepted his offer, Edward still worried that Aro would not keep his part of the deal.

Aro was quite good at keeping his thoughts in check, but after two weeks in Volterra, Edward caught something that had him worried. Aro wanted to send Felix to Forks to dispose of Bella.

Pretending that he didn't already know the plan, Edward asked Aro if he could visit his family in Alaska to see if he could convince Alice to join the Guard.

"But of course, Edward. I appreciate your consideration." Aro said.

Edward was not actually going to go to Alaska, he was going to go to Forks to stop Felix, but Aro didn't need to know that. He knew that Aro was suspicious but was happy that he agreed to let him go.

Edward took an early flight to Forks, arriving before Felix. He first went to Bella's house, but when she wasn't there, he assumed she was in La Push. He felt a little better knowing that the wolves were there to protect her, but when he got a call from Alice, he began to worry. Alice said that she had a vision about Edward in Forks looking for Bella and that he could find her in Port Angeles with her friend. Edward silently cursed the mutt for allowing Bella to go out without protection and hurried to Port Angeles to keep watch. Felix never arrived and Edward was glad when Bella and Angela decided to leave.

That night, Edward hid in the trees behind Bella's house and waited for Felix to arrive. He made sure to stay downwind in case one of the wolves was sniffing around.

Felix arrived exactly six minutes after Jacob ran off into the forest. For someone so strong, Felix was an idiot, but that meant Edward's task would be easier. Felix stood right in front of the window, scaring Bella half to death.

Once Edward heard Bella scream, he jumped out from the trees and attacked Felix. The surprise attack had given Edward an edge and he tried to hold Felix off as long as he possibly could, hoping that the wolves would arrive soon.

"What do you think you're doing!" Felix snarled, trying to take a bite at Edward's neck.

"I won't let you kill her." Edward said sternly, grabbing onto Felix's arm and yanking hard until it came off. Felix roared in anger, but luckily the wolves showed up right at that moment.

They were able to take down Felix without too much damage to their pack before they turned on Edward. They knew it was him and they were hesitant to attack. Edward read their minds and discovered that they were all furious except for Seth, who was sad that Edward had betrayed them. Edward made a run for it but Leah and Paul were close behind him, snapping their sharp teeth at his heels. Fortunately, he was able to make it to the ocean before they got a bite.

Edward was glad that he had done what he came to do and decided to actually go up to Alaska to see his family before going back to Volterra. He knew that Aro would be asking a lot of questions when Edward returned and Felix didn't, and he knew it was only a matter of time before Aro went down to Washington himself. His only hope was that his family could help him come up with a plan before it was too late.

* * *

**Thoughts? Comments? Let me know what you think of chapter 9!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

* * *

Jacob sat, phased, in the forest behind Bella's house in the middle of the night. All day he had contemplated how he was going to tell Bella the difficult news. He was going to have to tell her what really happened; he just didn't know how. Jacob never liked Edward, but he still didn't want to be the one to give Bella the news that her ex was trying to kill her. While Bella may have ended up choosing Jacob, she still cared for Edward, making the whole situation that much harder.

The entire interaction with Edward was rather strange. Edward's actions had Jacob thinking back to the meeting that occurred earlier that day. Seth was so sure that it was a mistake. For some reason, Seth had a soft spot for the Cullens, much to Jacob's dismay. The young boy's innocence led him to believe that the Cullens could do no wrong, even though they were bloodthirsty vampires.

Since Jacob had become alpha, he had to make difficult decisions. Keeping his pack and Bella safe were his main priorities and he'd be damned if he let Edward ruin the progress he'd made during the last two weeks.

A rustling in the bushes to his right had Jacob preparing to pounce on any vampire that dared to cross his path. A moment later, a skunk walked out, lifted its tail, and sprayed at Jacob. Jacob heard Paul laughing in his head. The two of them were out patrolling together and Paul always seemed to find everything amusing, especially if it involved humiliation for someone else.

"Oh man, that was perfect!" Paul roared in laughter.

"This is not funny!" Jacob growled, wishing he were closer to Paul so he could personally remove the smirk from his face.

"No, you're right. That was _hilarious_!"

"Go get Jared. I'll wait here until you get back. I need to go home and see if I can get this smell to go away."

"Sure thing, boss." Paul chucked and phased out.

Ten minutes later, Jacob could hear both Paul and Jared's booming laughter. Jacob decided to ignore them and ran back towards his house. "Jared, get over to Bella's house and stand guard!" He commanded.

Jared quickly quieted down and ran to Bella's house to replace Jacob.

Once Jacob reached his own house, he opened the front door, only to be stopped by his dad in the entrance.

"Woah, son, no. Paul told me what happened before he left again, and you are not coming in this house," Billy said.

"Then what am I supposed to do? Find some soap and hope it rains tonight?" Jacob said irately.

"Get the old washbasin out of the garage and I'll see if he have any tomato juice in the pantry," Billy said before leaving his son standing on the porch. Jacob sighed in frustration and stormed over to the garage.

Jacob couldn't stand the smell much longer. His oversensitive wolf senses were making the skunk scent ten times worse than the already putrid stench. He tried hard not to gag as the smell overwhelmed the small garage. He quickly grabbed the washbasin that was holding a bunch of rusty car parts, dumped everything onto the floor, and bolted out of there as quickly as possible.

He met his dad at the backdoor of the house. Billy was waving two large cans of tomato juice in his hands excitedly. "I knew we had some! After the time that Harry got sprayed on that camping trip he, Charlie, and I went on years ago, I vowed to always keep tomato juice in the house in case of an emergency, even if that just meant cooking dinner." He chuckled to himself as he recalled the famous outing.

"So what do I do?" Jacob asked.

"Bathe in the tomato juice and don't come inside until that skunk smell is gone. Good luck." Billy threw the two cans at his son who caught them with ease.

Two hours and three tomato baths later, Jacob still smelled like a skunk. If anything, the tomato juice just enhanced the smell. Noticing the weather was getting wet, but still not allowed to go inside the house, Jacob laid on the uncomfortable garage floor, keeping the door open to vent the room. As Jacob laid their, he continued to think about the fight that had occurred the previous night. If he was being completely honest with himself, he never actually saw Edward trying to attack the pack or Bella. But was that just a con? In his heart, he knew it wasn't, as much as his wolf instincts begged him to believe otherwise. He just had to find out why Edward was outside of Bella's house with another vampire, then. He prayed it wouldn't be too difficult to figure out what was really going on.

The next morning, Seth came over to talk to Jacob and found him asleep on his side, in the garage.

"Jake," Seth said, lightly kicking him in the back to wake him up.

Jacob groaned and rolled onto his back to see Seth towering over him. "What the heck do you want?" He said groggily.

"Paul and Jared weren't lying. You smell horrible." Seth's face was scrunched in disgust.

"Did you just come here to insult me?" Jacob said, shielding his eyes from the morning light that was streaming through the open door.

"I want to talk to you about Edward," Seth said simply.

"I already know what you have to say." Jacob pushed himself up into a sitting position and leaned back on his arms. "

"It has to be a mistake!" Seth began.

"I know."

"Edward would never hurt Bella or the pack! He didn't even try to attack us the other night! Wait, what did you say?" Seth looked at Jacob confusedly, finally realizing that Jacob had agreed with him.

Jacob sighed and stood up. "As much as I hate to believe that Edward wasn't doing anything wrong, I think something else is going on."

"You believe me? Good. That's good…So what are we going to do?" Seth inquired.

"I don't know, Seth, what do you want me to do?" Jacob threw his hands up in frustration. "I don't think you understand just how much I would like to see Edward dead! I've never liked him!"

"But you love Bella…"

"Of course I do." Jacob ran a hand through his unruly hair.

"Then you know you can't kill him." Seth said quietly.

"Just let me figure this out, okay? You don't need to worry about it." Jacob said calmly. "Now why don't you and Leah take over patrol for the next couple of hours? I need to talk to Sam."

"Okay," Seth agreed and left to go find his sister.

* * *

On a cold and snowy day in Denali, Alaska, the Cullen clan was gathered around the living room, trying to figure out what Edward should do about the Volturi. He had only been back with his family for one day, but Edward knew he was going to have to figure out something quick because in addition to not want to be away from his family again for very long, he wanted to save Bella before it was too late.

The situation with Felix and the wolf pack did not turn out how Edward had hoped. He was glad that Felix was taken care of, but Edward's presence in Forks the previous night had brought forth the wrong reactions from the wolves, and he was not able to talk to them like he had hoped. Edward only had a few more hours before he was supposed to be on a plane to Volterra, and there was still so much to figure out.

Aro was going to go crazy if Edward returned alone. Edward told Aro that he would talk to Alice about joining the Volturi. There was no way that Edward could allow Aro to find out what really happened to Felix, and that Edward was in Forks. Edward needed to distract Aro from finding out the truth, and that distraction could only be Alice.

"No. She's not going with you." Jasper said, protectively placing his arm around his wife's petite frame after Edward explained the dilemma to his family.

"Well what am I supposed to do, Jasper?" Edward said. "If I don't show up with Alice, then the Volturi will know I was involved with Felix's death and they wont trust me anymore. I wont be able to protect Bella!"

"Well you're not taking my wife! She doesn't need to be involved in this!" Jasper growled.

"Jasper, it's okay." Alice gently placed her hand on Jasper's, who immediately calmed at her touch. "Bella needs us, and if Edward needs my help in protecting Bella, then I'm going to go with him. We are the ones that got Bella into this mess. I don't want her human life to end before it has even started." A moment after saying that, Alice stared into space as she had a vision.

"Alice…" Jasper's voice trailed off.

After her vision ended, Alice looked over at Edward intently as she answered Jasper's unasked question. "It will be okay. I've seen it."

Jasper sighed, resigned to the fact that once his wife had a vision, she followed what she needed to do wholeheartedly. "I guess there is no reason to argue about you going, then."

Alice turned to look at her husband. "No. Don't worry."

"Alice, be careful, alright?" Carlisle said, in a fatherly fashion.

"Of course." Alice smiled weakly. She then turned her attention back to Edward. "We should go."

Edward nodded in agreement.

Alice went upstairs to quickly pack a bag before heading back down to give each of her family members a big hug. She ended with Jasper, giving him a loving kiss. After their goodbyes, the two vampires made their way to Edward's silver Volvo, which he had left behind when he went to Volterra.

As Edward and Alice pulled out of the driveway, they both sat in an uncomfortable silence. The trees passed by in a blur as Edward sped down the narrow roads out of town and onto the freeway, heading towards Port Angeles International Airport.

Twenty minutes into the drive, Edward could no longer stand the silence, or the fact that Alice was doing everything possible to block her thoughts from him.

"Alice, we need to talk about what happened."

"No, we don't," Alice said simply, glaring at Edward.

"But your vision-" Edward began.

"Jasper would have never let me go if he knew the truth." Alice crossed her arms across her chest in anger that Edward had the audacity to argue with her. "Bella needs us. That's what is important right now."

Edward looked at Alice, pained. "This is going to be dangerous…"

Alice tore her gaze from Edward to stare out the front window. "I know."

* * *

**So, first, I know the skunk thing might seem random, but it's not. Second, I'm sorry if you don't like the Cullen's POV, but it's necessary to move the story along. Anyways, reviews are always welcome! I hope you enjoyed reading chapter 10!**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

* * *

Later that day, Bella made her way to La Push to visit Jacob and see if he had come up with a plan. She smiled as she crossed the border, eager to see Jacob again. A few minutes later and she was pulling up to Jacob's house. She went to open her door, but found that it had already been open for her, with Jacob standing there beaming at her. "Hey Bells."

"Hey," Bella went to give him a kiss, but as she got closer to him, she stopped and turned up her nose in disgust. "What in the world is that smell?"

"Got sprayed by a skunk last night." Jacob mumbled and embarrassedly looked away.

"Gross." Bella said, blowing him a kiss. "Sorry, but that's all you're going to get right now."

Jacob sighed. "I understand."

Bella hopped out of her car and began to walk towards Jacob's house. When he didn't follow, she called, "Are you coming, or what?"

"Dad said I can't go in the house until the smell goes away."

Bella smirked at the odd expression on Jacob's face. He was so cute when he was embarrassed. She hoped that the smell would wear off soon, because she really wanted to give him a kiss. "Let's go to the beach," she suggested.

Jacob nodded and the two of them made their way to the beach, walking near each other but never touching. As they got to their favorite spot, Bella took a seat on a log and Jacob sat next to her. They chatted about their time apart and Bella cracked up when Jacob told her his skunk story. Jacob wasn't one hundred percent sure, but he was guessing that the reason the tomato juice hadn't worked as well as it should have because he got sprayed when he was in wolf form and that somehow messed with the cleansing process. He was going to take a bath as a wolf and see if that helped, but he was out of juice and didn't want to repulse any customers by walking into the store smelling like a skunk.

Immediately after he told the story, Jacob's whole demeanor changed and he began to fidget with the hem of his shirt, making Bella worry. "Jacob, is something wrong?" Bella asked.

Jacob paused, trying to figure out how he was going to tell Bella his news. "I talked to Sam this morning…We came up with a plan."

"Well that's good," Bella said encouragingly. "What is it?"

"You know the other night when those two vampires came to your house?" He began. Bella nodded. "Well, I asked Quil to tell you something that wasn't true."

"What do you mean," Bella asked, offended that Jacob would think it was okay to lie to her.

Jacob sighed. "The vampire that got away…we knew who it was. It was Edward."

"Don't lie to me." Bella stood up and turned to face Jacob, protectively crossing her arms across her chest. "Edward wouldn't hurt me."

"I know. Something else is going on. We need to know why he was there. If not to kill you, then what were his intentions?"

Bella began to pace as she thought of the implications of Jacob's words. "So what's your plan, then?" She spat.

Jacob was taken aback by Bella's harsh tone. "Call him." He said simply. When Bella looked at him like he had grown two heads, he added, "You still have his number, right? Call him and ask him what he's doing. If we know his plan then maybe we can help."

Bella shook her head. "I don't want to call him."

"Then I'll call him. Can I have his number?" Jacob said. "Please."

Bella didn't answer him for a moment, trying to understand what she had Just heard. Edward was outside of her house two nights ago with another member of the Volturi, but he got away. And now, her current boyfriend wanted her to call up her ex fiancé, which is also her current boyfriends arch nemesis, and ask him about his day plans? This was becoming too much for her. And since when did Jacob believe that Edward was innocent in all of this. If anything, this should have been his clear shot at placing the blame entirely on Edward and giving him a reason to kill him.

Eventually, Bella gave in. She was too confused to try and figure out what was going on in Jacob's head. "I'll call him. I don't trust you two to be civil with each other."

Jacob sighed. "Fine. We should go back to Sam's house so he can also hear what Edward has to say." Jacob suggested.

The two of them walked to Sam's house in silence, Bella sill a bit wary of the plan. She was glad to hear that the Volturi hadn't immediately killed Edward like she thought they might, but she was also very curious to find out his plan. She would know soon enough.

As they got to Sam's house, Jacob knocked on the door and Sam let them in, leading them into the living room. "Bella, please have a seat. Jacob, you stand. I don't want my couch smelling like a dead animal." Sam joked. Jacob grumbled in discontent but stood by the couch, next to Bella who was now staring at the cell phone in her hand.

"Go ahead, Bella." Sam encouraged her.

Bella quickly typed in Edward's number and hit the send button and put the phone on speaker. It seemed to ring for hours before there was an answer on the other line."

"Bella?" Edward's voice sang through the phone. Bella was caught off guard by hearing her ex fiancée saying her name and immediately forgot what she was supposed to ask him. "Bella, are you there? Are you okay?" Edward voice started to sound worried. There was a lot of unidentifiable noise in the background and she wondered what he was doing.

"I'm here." Bella croaked.

Edward breathed a sigh of relief. "Is everything alright? Why are you calling? Are you in trouble?"

"Jacob's here." She began. "He told me what happened the other night."

"Bella, Jacob, please understand that I wasn't there to hurt anyone." Edward pleaded with them.

Jacob snorted. "We know that." Now tell us why you were here."

Edward paused for a moment before speaking and Bella was able to tell that the noise she heard earlier was a lot of people talking. "The Volturi sent Felix down to Forks to kill Bella. I happened to overhear their thoughts and I made up an excuse to follow him so I could stop him before he got to her."

"And now what?" Sam asked.

"Hello, Sam." Edward said politely. "Now we wait. I'm going to stop them from the inside. I've brought Alice back with me to help."

"What do you need us to do?" Jacob asked.

"Continue to guard Bella. Alice had a vision. I'm almost certain that the whole Volturi guard will be coming your way very shortly...there might be casualties." Edward said that last part almost in a whisper. Bella, Edward, and Jacob looked at each other worriedly.

"Who?" Bella murmured.

"I can't say." Edward said sadly. "But the future isn't set in stone."

"Edward, let's go." Alice could be heard in the background. Bella felt a tinge of pain in her chest at hearing her former best friend's voice.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. Our car is here." Edward said regretfully. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you what was going on before. I'll keep you updated." And on that final note, Edward hung up, not giving the others a chance to ask him anything else.

"Oh no." Bella said with tears streaming down her face.

Jacob sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms, forgetting Sam's request about him not smelling up the couch. Bella ignored the stench and fell into Jacob's warm embrace. Over and over, Bella muttered "This is all my fault" as Jacob rocked her in his arms trying to calm her down.

As Bella cried, Jacob gave a meaningful look at Sam and said, "We need to tell the others."

Sam nodded and walked out his front door, leaving Jacob and Bella alone.

* * *

Edward had just arrived at the airport in Italy with Alice when he got Bella's call. He was so shocked that she would be calling him that he didn't answer until the third ring. When Bella didn't respond right away, Edward just near had a panic attack, thinking that something horrible was going on. Once she finally answered, Edward let out a sigh of relief and was able to tell her, Jacob, and Sam, the gist of Alice's vision. Edward didn't like that Alice had lied to Jasper about her vision, but it was necessary. They both knew how Jasper would have reacted if he knew what was actually going to happen in the near future.

Once their car got to the airport, Edward hung up the phone and slid in the back of the car with Alice. Alice wasn't trying very hard to hide her disappointment at not being able to talk to Bella.

Alice gave Edward a somber look as they drove into the city of Volterra. Everything would be changing, and if they weren't careful, they would be in a lot of trouble.

When they got into the throne room, Aro was seated in the center throne, with Marcus sitting to his right and Caius on his left. The three of them were talking in hushed tones, but abruptly stopped when they heard Edward and Alice enter the room.

"Alice, my dear! I'm surprised to see you." Aro spoke, spreading his arms out wide in a welcoming gesture."

"I told you I was going to get her," Edward said.

"Yes, but one doesn't always do what they say, do they, Edward?" Aro said with a knowing look. He continued before Edward was able to respond. "For some reason, I haven't been able to get ahold of Felix."

"And why would that concern me?" Edward asked, feigning dumb. He was hoping that Aro didn't know that Edward had been partially involved in Felix's death.

Aro looked at Edward thoughtfully. "Felix is a loyal member of the Guard. When I ask him to dispose of certain…entities, he always comes through." When Edward didn't comment right away, Aro spoke again. "Do you know why you I have allowed you to live until this point, Edward?"

"Because I am valuable to the Guard." Edward offered.

"Wrong. It is because I wanted to see your face when I told you that Jane is not present in this castle, and neither is Alec." Aro said with a smirk.

"Then where are they?" Edward asked with the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

"I think you know exactly where they are." Aro leaned back and began to drum his fingers on the armrest of his throne.

Right after that, Alice was crippled by a new vision. Her face contorted in pain as flashes of Jane, Alec, the wolves, and Bella made themselves present in her mind and she screamed out Bella's name.

"Demetri," Aro called out for the vampire that had been waiting outside of the room for this exact moment. "Take these two to the dungeons."

* * *

**I would like you all to know that I have just published the first chapter of a different Bella and Jacob story. It might take a while until fanfiction updates it onto my page, but please check it out when you have the chance. I would very much appreciate it. And don't worry, this story will still be updated regularly along with the new one.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

* * *

Jacob and Bella were sitting on Sam's couch, talking, when it happened. Sam came running into the house and started speaking quickly about Leah coming across a fresh vampire scent while patrolling.

"What do you want me to do?" Sam asked, frantically. Everyone knew that it wasn't just an average, nomad vampire. The pack had been waiting for something like this to happen. Edward had even confirmed that it was going to happen sooner rather than later.

"I want you to stay with Bella until Seth gets here. Then we're going to go see what we're up against." Jacob said to Sam before focusing his attention on Bella. "Bells, I need you to stay here. Don't leave the house under any circumstance."

"I wont." Bella whispered before leaning in to give Jacob a kiss. "Be careful."

"I will." Jacob rushed out of the house to call the pack together and tell them their assignments.

While Sam and Bella were waiting, Bella started to panic. "What's going to happen, Sam?"

"We're going to stop them. We're going to make sure that they can't terrorize anyone ever again." Sam said confidently.

At that moment, Seth rushed through the door. "Hey. Sam you can go." Seth gestured towards the door and Sam gave Bella one last look before leaving.

"Hey, Bella," Seth said, his voice unusually serious. He took a seat next to Bella on the couch but didn't say anything else.

"Hey…did you see anything while you were out there?" Bella asked quietly.

"No."

The two of them sat in silence, not knowing what to say as they waited for the signs that something was happening outside.

A few minutes passed before a loud howl was heard coming from the woods. Seth immediately tensed, knowing that the howl was a cry of pain. He silently prayed that his pack mates were going to be okay. No one knew how many vampires they were facing when they went out there, but it was their job to protect everyone in La Push and they were going to do the best they could to make sure the people were safe.

"I can't just sit here," Bella said suddenly while standing up. "Do you want something to eat Seth? I need to occupy myself with something."

"Um, sure." Seth said, feeling a bit guilty that he would be eating while everyone else was out fighting. He didn't like having to stay back, but he knew that his job was important and he was very honored that Jacob trusted him enough to watch over Bella during that time.

Bella made everything she could find in the house, trying to distract herself from thinking about what was going on in the woods. It was a lot of food, but she figured that the pack could eat when they came back. Seth came into the kitchen a few times, trying to offer his assistance, but Bella shooed him away.

When she ran out of things to cook, Bella and Seth sat at the table with plates full of food, but they hardly ate a thing, their nerves getting the best of them. It was while they were sitting at the dining room table that they heard a loud crash, like glass shattering, coming from the other room. Seth ran into the living room and immediately phased when he saw a small, blonde vampire standing in the middle of the room. She looked like a little girl, which caught Seth a bit off guard.

Seth was so focused on the vampire's unexpected appearance that he didn't realize Bella had followed him into the room. In an instance, the vampire had Bella pinned to the wall.

"Hello, Isabella," the vampire said with a sickeningly sweet voice.

"Jane." Bella choked out.

Seth didn't know what to do. He wanted to take down the vampire, but he couldn't risk hurting Bella. He wondered how the vampire had even made it past the pack. Suddenly, the vampire suddenly focused her attention on Seth as if she hadn't seen him before, and said, "Pain."

Seth crumpled to the ground in a nauseating pain the crippled him. He didn't know what was happening to his body, but he knew that the vampire was causing it. He then understood how she could have made it to the house without the rest of the pack stopping her.

"Leave him alone." Bella was having a hard time breathing as Jane kept her restrained.

"Isabella. Sweet, sweet Isabella." Jane said, not taking her eyes off of Seth. "It's over. I'm taking you back to Italy and you're going to be one of us. I would rather just kill you, but apparently you're too valuable for that."

"I'll come with you. Just let Seth go." Bella sobbed as she watched her friend writhe in pain.

Jane smiled and finally moved her gaze from Seth to Bella. The pain instantly stopped, but Seth lay unmoving on the floor.

"Poor thing." Jane said with false pity.

"Is he…is he dead?" Bella almost didn't want to know.

"Not yet." Jane smirked.

Bella tried to wiggle free of Jane's grasp but the attempt was futile.

"Stop it, Isabella." Jane said, annoyed.

"Where is everyone else?" Bella asked.

"They are attempting to fight my dear brother, Alec. Some of which were not very fortunate."

Bella wanted to scream at Jane's suggestion that some of the wolves were either hurt, or worse.

"Let's go." Jane said, dragging Bella out the front door. Bella took one last look at Seth to make sure he was still breathing before focusing her attention on the situation at hand. Jane was walking her deep into the forest. Bella heard a couple of howls in the distance, but she didn't see any signs of a war. They eventually reached a clearing where Bella saw everything that was going on. A couple wolves lay on the ground while the rest of them chased after a vampire that was so fast that even if Bella were a vampire, her eyes would have difficulty following the movement.

Suddenly, Bella was being dragged over to a tree and tied to it.

"You can stay here and watch while my brother and I kill the rest of your friends." Jane teased and ran away.

"No!" Bella called out, but it was useless. Jane had joined the fight.

Bella could hardly bare to watch the scene unfolding in front of her. The wolves would get very close to taking Alec down, but then Jane would cripple them with her mind. She looked at the wolves that were lying on the ground, but she wasn't sure who they were. She quickly scanned the fight and was overjoyed to see Jacob was still alive, although he seemed to be hurt.

Bella was so consumed by the fight that she didn't notice when someone came up beside her and started to untie her hands and feet. She almost screamed, thinking it was another vampire, but was ecstatic when Seth came into view. He held up a finger to his lips, indicating that Bella needed to be quiet.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Bella whispered and threw herself at Seth and gave him a huge hug. "We can't just leave everyone else."

"I know. You go back to the house and I'll help them."

Seth turned around to join the fight but stopped in his tracks when he saw Jane standing there. "You thought I wouldn't notice you took her?" She pushed Seth to the side and grabbed Bella so she couldn't run. "Alec!"

Alec suddenly stopped his advances on Jake and ran to his sister.

"Let's go." Jane said. Alec nodded and then threw Bella onto his back and the two of them took off running before anyone else knew what was happening.

They ran until they were two far gone for the injured wolves to catch them. When they finally stopped, Bella was able to see that they were on the tarmac at Port Angeles International Airport. A private jet was sitting, waiting for the three of them to board.

Many hours later, they arrived in Italy. Once Bella stepped off the plane, she was immediately shoved into a car with darkly tinted windows and it was a short drive from the airport to the Volturi Castle. Bella had been there once before when she was rescuing Edward but that time had not been pleasant and she didn't expect her second visit to be any different.

They didn't tie Bella up because they obviously didn't see her as a threat, but that didn't mean that they weren't keeping a close eye on her. When they got inside, she was led into the throne room with Jane and Alec never leaving her side. Aro was seated on the center throne speaking to Marcus, who was on his right, while Caius, on the left, listened in, but kept his eyes on Bella, Jane, and Alec as they entered.

"Aro," Caius said softly. "It seems we have a visitor."

Aro abruptly stopped his conversation with Marcus and turned to give Bella a cheeky grin and stood up, walking at a human pace towards Bella as he spoke. "My dear Isabella. I'm so glad to have you back. I hope Jane and Alec are making you feel right at home."

"Not in particular." Bella mumbled, causing Aro to laugh.

"You never cease to amaze me, Isabella. The fact that you have avoided my attempts at contacting you has hurt my feelings. I specifically sent Felix to personally invite you to Italy, yet you had your wolves kill him. That wasn't very nice. Not at all." Aro was eerily calm as he said this, but then suddenly his mood changed. "Let's get to the matter at hand, here. You are not a vampire. That needs to be resolved."

"I will never be one of you!" Bella argued.

"Isabella, I am a reasonable man. I will not do something you do not wish me to do."

"What?" Bella asked confusedly.

"If I cannot convince you, then perhaps some old friends of yours can." Aro said.

"Old friends?"

"Demetri." Aro said to the vampire standing in the corner. "Would you please show young Isabella to her room? Her friends are waiting for her."

"Of course," Demetri said, nodding once and then walking up to Bella and grabbing her arm.

"Jane, Alec, you are excused. You did exactly what I asked you to do." Aro said.

Jane and Alec left the room and Demetri and Bella followed, but when the twins went right, Demetri and Bella went left. The grip Demetri had on Bella's arm was so tight that it would probably leave a bruise, but that was the least of her worries at the moment. Aro told Demetri to lead Bella to her room, but that could mean anything; she most definitely wasn't expecting a five-star hotel.

Demetri led her down a dark corridor that was built with stone. The further down the corridor she went, the colder it got. Eventually, they reached a metal door with a security code on it. Demetri typed the code so quickly that Bella couldn't see it. The door opened to reveal another door made out of metal bars. He quickly unlocked that door with a key and pushed Bella inside, locking the door behind her.

"Say hello to your friends for me." Demetri sneered and then left through the other door, locking her into the complete darkness.

A movement could be heard in the corner and Bella's heart began to beat quickly as she anticipated an attack. The sound got closer and a moment later, she was lying flat on her back with a slight weight on top of her.

"Bella! Oh my gosh! I'm so glad your alive! I was almost certain Aro was going to kill you in the throne room." Alice chirped.

"You're squishing me, Alice." Bella said, but was extremely relieved that her friend was with her again.

"Oops, sorry." Alice said, standing up and pulling Bella to her feet as well.

"You have to tell me what happened back in Washington. You were with the wolves so I couldn't see anything. I didn't know you were even still alive until I saw you getting into an airplane with Alec and Jane."

"It's a long story, Alice. I'd rather not talk about it right now. I'm really tired." Bella said, not being able to contain a yawn.

"Oh." Alice said, disappointed. "Well, take a nap and I'll stand guard.

"Thanks, Alice." Alice led Bella to a cot in the corner of the room and Bella laid down. The last thing she remembered before drifting off to sleep was Edward humming the lullaby he had written for her. She knew it wouldn't happen, but she secretly hoped that when she woke up, everything that had occurred that day would turn out to be a dream.

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**Goodness gracious, that was an ordeal! Sorry for the wait. I had a difficult time writing this chapter, but I'm happy with how it turned out. Anyways, what are your thoughts on chapter 12?**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

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Bella awoke into complete darkness; opening her eyes was no different than keeping them closed. She heard a shuffling noise to her left and her heart started to thump quicker. Instinctively, she backed up into the wall behind her, trying to get away from the noise.

"It's okay, Bella. It's just us." Edward said calmly.

"How long have we been in here?" Bella groggily asked, rubbing her eyes.

"You have been in here five hours. Alice and I have been in here over a day." Edward spoke softly but his voice echoed through the dungeon.

"Aren't you thirsty?" Bella almost didn't want to ask.

"Not yet." Alice said. Her voice wasn't as cheerful as it normally was, and that was somewhat worrisome to Bella.

"Aro is trying to starve us. He thinks we will change you once we can no longer contain our thirst. I wont let that happen." Edward spoke confidently, giving Bella some hope that she would get out of there alive.

For Bella, becoming a vampire had been all she wanted when she was dating Edward, but after she went back to Jacob, she never gave it a second thought. Jacob was her sun and she would not let vampirism in the way of her new relationship with him.

Jacob. The name echoed in her mind as she thought of the last time she had seen him. He was attempting to kill Alec, but was having a difficult time because he was hurt. There had also been two other wolves that were either dead or seriously injured as they laid on the ground near the tree line. The whole situation had turned out to be a disaster. Everyone had known that an attack was coming, but they were unprepared for it to happen as soon as it had. When Bella was taken to Italy and thrown into the dungeon, she was overjoyed to find out that Edward and Alice were still alive, but all she really wanted to do was get back to her Jacob, her imprint, her beloved, her sun.

"How are we going to get out of here? Do either of you have a plan?" Bella asked.

"Kind of," Alice began. "When Demetri comes to bring you something to eat soon, tell him that you wish to speak to Aro about your change and he will come into the dungeon to get you. Once he is in the room, Edward and I will swarm him and take him down."

"Alice that's too dangerous." Edward said wearily.

"It has to work. We don't have any other choice."

"I'll do it." Bella said. "I don't want to be here any more than you do. I need to get back to Jacob."

Edward growled a bit at the mention of Jacob, earning himself a scolding from Bella. The two of them were arguing when Alice shushed them.

"Demetri will be here in a minute."

And right on cue, Demetri could be heard unlocking the first door. A light entered the dark dungeon and blinded the three who had been kept from it for so long. After a few moments of adjustment, Bella could see Demetri on the other side of the barred door, holding a tin with some type of food in it. As he slid it under a small gap below the door, Bella started in with the plan.

"Demetri," She called out confidently, walking closer to the door. "I would like to be taken to Aro to discuss the details of my change."

Demetri chuckled at her request. "You are to stay here. Aro's orders."

"Please," she begged. "I've thought about a lot since I've been in here and I really need to speak with Aro."

Demetri thought for a moment before deciding that Bella wasn't a threat to him and it wouldn't do any harm to take her to the vampire leader. He gently set down the lantern he was carrying and reached for the key that would unlock the metal door. Bella's heart beat faster as she anticipated the next move. If Edward and Alice were unsuccessful, the three of them would all be dead for sure. It seemed to take extra long for Demetri to open the door, and when he did, Edward's hands were at his throat while Alice helped pin him against the wall. Demetri was extremely strong, but because he was caught off guard, Edward and Alice had had the upper hand.

Demetri tried to bite Edward but his advances were ineffective as Edward tore Demetri's head from his body and threw it past Bella into the darkened dungeon. Together, the two vampires tore Demetri to pieces and piled them into the dungeon. After the pile was complete, Edward took the lantern, which, luckily, was lit with a real flame, and tossed it onto the dismembered vampire. Demetri immediately went up in flames as Bella watched in horror. Sensing that Bella would not move on her own, Edward picked her up and carried her out of the dungeon with Alice in tow.

They had to be careful as they exited the dungeons and made their way up the stairs. They hadn't been too loud during the fight, but considering mostly everyone in the castle was a vampire, there was a likely chance that someone had heard something and alerted Aro.

No one seemed to be around the immediate dungeon area, so Edward and Alice made a run for it. They made it all the way into the lobby before they saw someone and abruptly stopped. A human woman with sleek brown hair and a tight black dress was sitting behind a desk. She was the new receptionist. She eyed the two vampires and Bella suspiciously, but didn't say a word. It was likely that the human would make a phone call after Edward, Alice, and Bella left the building, but she had been around vampires long enough to know that she would never win in a fight against one of them, so she let the three of them pass.

Once outside, they borrowed one of the Volturi's darkened cars and drove off.

"I need to call Jacob." Bella was panicking while looking through the back window to see if anyone was following them.

"You can call him at the airport," Edward grumbled, not taking his eyes off of the road. He pressed down on the accelerator, pushing the car to it's limits.

"Edward." Alice said softly and placed a hand on Edward's shoulder, which he shook off.

"Are we going to make it, Alice?" Bella asked.

Alice shook her head and looked back at Bella who was in the back seat. "I don't know. I can't see anything."

"But that happened before…"

"Yes, whenever the wolves are involved." Alice snapped and turned back around.

"I understand that you don't like that they block your visions, but they are good people! And you know, it's not normal for people to have visions, so just be happy that you have them when you do!"

"Well fine, Bella." Alice said sassily.

"Can you two please stop. We're here." Edward quickly jumped out of the car and went to help Bella out.

Once inside, the three went straight up to the counter to purchase their tickets. Luckily, they were able to get tickets for the next flight out to Washington, but they had to run. Without bags they easily got through security and onto the plane with Alice in the aisle seat, Edward in the middle, and Bella at the window. Right as the plane was about to take off, Alice had the vision she was waiting for.

"Aro knows." She said suddenly.

"Then we wont have much time once we get back." Edward took Alice's hand in his, trying to calm his adoptive sister down.

"I never got to call Jacob," Bella whispered but it was still loud enough for the two vampires to hear.

"I'm sure he's fine, Bella. Stop worrying." Edward thought a moment about how he wanted to ask Bella his next question, but decided that any way he asked it would sound rude, so he just went for it. "Why did you even choose him? Yeah, I get that he fought for you and he imprinted on you, but I still don't understand."

Bella looked over at Edward curiously wondering why he was torturing himself by asking. "I love him. I have always loved him. I loved you too, but I was blinded by everything you could give me. My love for Jacob isn't like that, and I don't feel like I have to act a certain way around him. Yes, he's my imprint, but he's so much more than that. Jacob is my best friend. I can't ever imagine not being with him." Bella got quieter as she finished her speech.

Edward nodded. "He's very lucky to have you."

Edward didn't speak to Bella again after that. After a while, Bella got up to use the bathroom and when she returned, Edward had stolen her seat, allowing her to sit next to Alice. Bella and Alice spent the rest of the flight making up for lost time and as well as discussing the actions they would need to take as soon as they landed.

Many hours later, they landed. Edward went to get a car while Alice followed Bella to a telephone.

"Hello?" Billy's voice sounded through the phone.

"Billy! It's Bella! Is Jake there?"

"Bella, thank God. Where are you?"

"I'm at the airport. I'll be there in about thirty minutes if we don't get pulled over for speeding. Please tell me Jake is okay."

Billy sighed. "He's okay. A little worse for wear, but he'll be alright."

Alice tapped Bella on the shoulder and nodded towards Edward who was waiting by the airport doors.

"Billy I have to go. I'll explain everything when I get there. Please warn the guys that I'm bringing Edward and Alice with me."

"I'll do that. See you soon."

Bella thought it was a bit strange that Billy didn't argue about her bringing Edward and Alice, but pushed it to the back of her mind. Edward got them to the reservation in thirty minutes flat, and in another thirty seconds, they were parked in front of Jacob's house.

The first thing Bella noticed when they arrived was that no one seemed to be out and about. She swiftly made her way to the front door and walked in without knocking. Alice and Edward had decided to wait in the car. Billy was at the kitchen table but Jake was nowhere to be seen.

"Billy?" Bella walked over to the man who looked grief stricken and sat in the chair next to him. He looked up at her briefly before looking back down at the table. "Are you okay?"

"Just got back from a funeral."

Bella felt the blood drain from her face. "Who?"

"Jake is in his room. You should go talk to him." Billy said, ignoring Bella's question.

Bella got up from the table and walked to Jacob's room. She lightly rapped on the door. "Jake?"

Instantly, the door flew open and Bella was pulled into Jake's warm embrace. "I thought I'd never see you again." He said into her hair before leaning down to give her a meaningful kiss, but it didn't last long. Jacob broke down and rested his head on Bella's shoulder as he cried.

Bella didn't know what to say, so she just pulled him close and ran her hands gently through his hair, waiting for him to tell her something.

When Jacob was ready, he moved his head away from Bella's shoulder and looked at her with red-rimmed eyes. "It was Sam."

Bella could feel her own eyes start to tear up.

Jacob began pacing the room as he spoke. "I don't know what to do. I can't do this on my own. Sam would have known what to do." He stopped by his desk, looking down at a picture of the smiling faces of the pack. "Damn it!" Jacob punched a hole right in the wall, leaving small cuts on his hand.

The tears were freely flowing down Bella's face. Tears of anger at what was happening, tears of sadness for Sam, and tears of grief over seeing Jacob the way he was.

Jacob turned around again staring at Bella as he cried for the loss of his pack mate and brother. Without a word, Bella walked over to him and held him in her arms. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and the two of them cried until all of their tears were dried up.

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_**IMPORTANT:**_ **This will be the last update for a couple of weeks. I will be moving into my apartment and starting school in a few days, so I will need to be focusing on that. But don't worry, I will be back soon enough with a new chapter! It'll be like I wasn't even gone! Thanks for reading this far and I hope you decide to stick around! Sorry for leaving you on such a sad note! For those of you also reading my other story, I'll have the next chapter up hopefully tomorrow.**


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